Alexandra Coritsidis, Simrat Dhaliwal, Stella T. Tsui, Luis A. Marcos, Jeanwoo Yoo, Jenny Fung, Joshua Abata, Hal Skopicki, Andreas P. Kalogeropoulos, Jessica Hotelling, Azad Mojahedi, Jacob Robin, Nikitha Karkala, Sahil Rawal, Michelle E Bloom, Jacquelyn Nakamura, Prabhjot Grewal, and Aikaterini Papamanoli
Introduction: Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) 2, is a co-receptor for the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into target cells. The impact of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) on outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is under investigation. Hypothesis: ACEIs/ARBs are associated with worse outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: We evaluated the in-hospital course of 469 adults admitted to Stony Brook University Hospital, NY, from March 1 to April 15, 2020 with severe COVID-19 pneumonia (need for high-flow O2). We excluded patients who required mechanical ventilation (MV) or died within 24h of admission. We used Cox regression models to examine the association of previous (home) use of ACEIs or ARBs with mortality and the composite of death or MV. Results: Table 1 summarizes the patient characteristics according to ACEI/ARB use (ACEI: 73; ARB: 73; 146/469 patients, 31.1%). After a median of 13 days (8-22), 123 patients (26.2%) died and 105 patients (22.4%) required MV and survived. In models adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, and baseline 0 2 saturation, ACEIs/ARBs were not associated with mortality (HR 1.00; 95%CI 0.62-1.61; P=0.99). There was no difference between classes in mortality (ACEI vs. ARB: HR 1.14; 95%CI 0.61-2.15; P=0.68). However, there was a trend towards lower rates of death or MV with ACEI/ARB (HR 0.75; 95%CI 0.54-1.05; P=0.095), mainly because of lower MV rates. The protective effect of ARBs on the composite was significant (HR 0.66; 95%CI 0.44-0.99; P=0.046) whereas that of ACEIs was not (HR 0.87; 95%CI 0.57-1.31; P=0.50), albeit difference was not significant (P=0.28). Conclusions: In patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, ACEI/ARB use was not associated with mortality. Especially ARBs may reduce need for MV in this high-risk COVID-19 population.