Clinical Outcomes of COPD Patients Hospitalized for SARS-Cov-2 Infection During the Omicron Era: Comparative Effectiveness of Initiating Remdesivir in Addition to Corticosteroids Versus Corticosteroids Alone

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Neera Ahuja - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Heng Jiang - , Certara (Author)
  • Marc Milano - , Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBIMC) (Author)
  • Roman Casciano - , Certara (Author)
  • Ananth Kadambi - , Certara (Author)
  • Thomas Oppelt - , Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Author)
  • Fariborz Rezai - , Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick (Author)
  • Martin Kolditz - , Department of Internal Medicine I (Author)
  • Veronika Müller - , Semmelweis University (Author)
  • Essy Mozaffari - , Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Author)

Abstract

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are vulnerable to developing severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. This retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of remdesivir (RDV) initiated with corticosteroids (CCS) versus CCS only in patients with COPD hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Omicron period from December 2021 to February 2024. The analysis used patient-level data from the large, geographically diverse, US hospital administrative billing PINC AI healthcare database. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to adjust for potential confounding and enable a scientifically robust comparative assessment of differences in outcomes between treatment groups. Initiation of RDV with CCS upon admission for SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a lower mortality risk at 14 and 28 days with an overall adjusted hazard ratio [95% CI] of 0.74 [0.68-0.80] and 0.76 [0.71-0.82], respectively, compared to initiation of CCS only. The combination of RDV and CCS was also associated with a lower mortality risk at 14 and 28 days for patients across baseline oxygen requirements compared to CCS only. These results highlight the benefit of timely RDV treatment in COPD patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection and underscore the value of considering established treatment paradigms in the context of the most recent collective evidence.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number1438
Number of pages12
JournalViruses
Volume17
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC12656847
Scopus 105023063765
ORCID /0000-0001-6022-6827/work/203813216

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adenosine Monophosphate/analogs & derivatives, Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alanine/analogs & derivatives, Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use, COVID-19 Drug Treatment, COVID-19/mortality, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy, Retrospective Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment Outcome, real-world evidence, remdesivir, COVID-19, corticosteroids, mortality, COPD