Long and Short-term Metformin Consumption as a Potential Therapy to Prevent Complications of COVID-19

Purpose

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of metformin in complication improvement of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Methods

This was a randomized clinical trial that involved 189 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Patients in the intervention group received metformin-500 mg twice daily. Patients who received metformin before admission were excluded from the control group. Patients who were discharged before taking at least 2000 mg of metformin were excluded from the study. Primary outcomes were vital signs, need for ICU admission, need for intubation, and mortality.

Results

Data showed that patients with diabetes with previous metformin in their regimen had lower percentages of ICU admission and death in comparison with patients without diabetes (11.3% vs. 26.1% (P=0.014) and 4.9% vs. 23.9% (P≤0.001), respectively). Admission time characteristics were the same for both groups except for diabetes and hyperlipidemia, which were significantly different between the two groups. Observations of naproxen consumption on endpoints, duration of hospitalization, and the levels of spO2 did not show any significant differences between the intervention and the control group. The adjusted OR for intubation in the intervention group versus the control group was 0.21 [95% CI, 0.04-0.99 (P=0.047)].

Conclusion

In this trial, metformin consumption had no effect on mortality and ICU admission rates in non-diabetic patients. However, metformin improved COVID-19 complications in diabetic patients who had been receiving metformin prior to COVID-19 infection, and it significantly lowered the intubation rates.

Nasal and extra nasal MRSA colonization in hemodialysis patients of north-west of Iran

OBJECTIVES

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus (S.) aureus colonization is one of the main causes of serious infections in hemodialysis patients. This cross-sectional study was performed to examine prevalence of MRSA colonization and evaluation of risk factors in hemodialysis patients. A total of 560 swab samples from nasal, the skin around catheter and throat were collected from 231 hemodialysis patients in Tabriz. The standard biochemical tests were used for identification of S. aureus isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined against 11 antibiotics by the disk diffusion method. Phenotypic test of S. aureus was performed using novobiocin 30 μg/disc, and methicillin sensitivity test was performed by cefoxitin 30 μg/disc.

RESULTS

Overall, 50.65% (118/231) hemodialysis patients were positive for S. aureus which 34.93% (80/231) of patients were MRSA carriage. The MRSA colonization in patients with a catheter (44.06%) was more than individuals utilizing a fistula (24.57%, p = 0.030). Among sampling sites, the highest MRSA was related to nasal samples (30.70%, p < 0.00001). Extra nasal colonization of S. aureus was observed in 12.71% patients. The highest rates of resistance were observed against ampicillin (93.98%) and the highest sensitivity was against linezolid antibiotic (5.42%). These findings highlight the necessity of prophylaxis against S. aureus in individuals under dialysis.