Anti-inflammatory drugs did not speed COVID-19 recovery but prevented deaths
Two drugs commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis did not shorten recovery time for patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 but did reduce the likelihood of death when compared with standard care alone, according to a national study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study appears July 10 in JAMA.
For COVID-19 patients treated with abatacept, 56 out of 509 patients had died by day 28 (11% mortality). In the placebo group, 77 out of 510 patients had died over the same time frame (15.1% mortality). This 4.1% difference represents 21 fewer deaths among those who received abatacept.
For patients treated with infliximab, 52 out of 517 patients had died by day 28 (10.1% mortality). In the placebo group, 75 out of 516 patients had died by day 28 (14.5% mortality). This 4.4% difference represents 23 fewer deaths among those who received infliximab.
