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Kirkham AM, Bailey AJM, Monaghan M, Shorr R, Lalu MM, Fergusson DA, Allan DS. Updated Living Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Controlled Trials of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells to Treat COVID-19: A Framework for Accelerated Synthesis of Trial Evidence for Rapid Approval-FASTER Approval. Stem Cells Transl Med 2022; 11:675-687. [PMID: 35758400 PMCID: PMC9299509 DOI: 10.1093/stcltm/szac038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19; however, early evidence is based on few studies with marked interstudy heterogeneity. The second iteration of our living systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates a framework needed for synthesizing evidence from high-quality studies to accelerate consideration for approval. Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted on November 15, 2021, to identify all English-language, full-text, and controlled clinical studies examining MSCs to treat COVID-19 (PROSPERO: CRD42021225431). Findings Eleven studies were identified (403 patients with severe and/or critical COVID-19, including 207 given MSCs and 196 controls). All 11 studies reported mortality and were pooled through random-effects meta-analysis. MSCs decreased relative risk of death at study endpoint (RR: 0.50 [95% CI, 0.34-0.75]) and RR of death at 28 days after treatment (0.19 [95% CI], 0.05-0.78) compared to controls. MSCs also decreased length of hospital stay (mean difference (MD: −3.97 days [95% CI, −6.09 to −1.85], n = 5 studies) and increased oxygenation levels at study endpoint compared to controls (MD: 105.62 mmHg O2 [95% CI, 73.9-137.3,], n = 3 studies). Only 2 of 11 studies reported on all International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) criteria for MSC characterization. Included randomized controlled trials were found to have some concerns (n = 2) to low (n = 4) risk of bias (RoB), while all non-randomized studies were found to have moderate (n = 5) RoB. Interpretation Our updated living systematic review concludes that MSCs can likely reduce mortality in patients with severe or critical COVID-19. A master protocol based on our Faster Approval framework appears necessary to facilitate the more accelerated accumulation of high-quality evidence that would reduce RoB, improve consistency in product characterization, and standardize outcome reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan M Kirkham
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Adrian J M Bailey
- Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Madeline Monaghan
- Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Risa Shorr
- Medical Information and Learning Services, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Manoj M Lalu
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Regenerative Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Anesthesia, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Dean A Fergusson
- Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - David S Allan
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Regenerative Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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