AUTHOR=Zhang Jing , Sheng Hongguang , Tang Xiaoyi , Xia Panpan , Li Zhangwang , Xu Minxuan , Ma Jianyong , Shen Yunfeng , Yu Peng , Liu Xiao 

TITLE=Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.935280

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.935280

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has raised great concerns. The effect of NSAIDs on the clinical status of COVID-19 remains in question. Therefore, we performed a post hoc analysis. Patients with COVID-19 from the ORCHID trial were categorized into two groups according to NSAID use. The 28-day mortality, hospitalized discharge, and safety outcomes with NSAIDs for patients with COVID-19 were analyzed. 476 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were included. 412 patients (86.5%) did not receive NSAIDs, while 64 patients (13.5%) took NSAIDs as regular home medication. Patients who took NSAIDs did not have a significant increase in the risk of 28-day mortality (fully adjusted: hazard risk [HR]: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.52-2.42) in Cox multivariate analysis. Moreover, NSAIDs did not decrease hospital discharge through 28 days (fully adjusted: HR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.75-1.37). The results of a meta-analysis including 14 studies involving 48,788 patients with COVID-19 showed that the use of NSAIDs had a survival benefit (summary ratio risk [RR]: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.54-0.91) and decreased the risk of severe COVID-19 (summary: RR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.71-0.88). In conclusion, the use of NSAIDs is not associated with worse clinical outcomes, including 28-day mortality or hospital discharge, in American adult hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Based on current evidence, the use of NSAIDs is safe and should not be cautioned against during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing trials should further assess in-hospital treatment with NSAIDs for patients with COVID-19.