Researchers at George Washington University have found that aspirin can have lung protective effects and reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, ICU uptake, and in-hospital mortality. COVID-19 patients.
Researchers at George Washington University have found that low-dose aspirin can reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, ICU admission and hospital deaths in COVID-19 patients. Final results indicating the lung protective effects of aspirin were published today in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
“As we learned about the link between blood clots and COVID-19, we knew that aspirin – used to prevent stroke and heart attack – could be important for COVID-19 patients,” said Jonathan Chow, MD, assistant professor of anesthesia and critical care. medicine and director of the Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, said. “Our research found an association between low-dose aspirin and reduced severity of COVID-19 and death.”
More than 400 patients admitted to hospitals in the United States from March to July 2020, including those at GW Hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Northeast Georgia Health System, were included in the study . After adjustment for demographics and comorbidities, aspirin use was associated with a reduced risk of mechanical ventilation (44% reduction), ICU admission (43% reduction), and hospital deaths (47% reduction). There were no differences in severe bleeding or overt thrombosis between aspirin users and non-aspirin users.
Preliminary findings were first published in the fall of 2020 as a pre-print. Since then, other studies have confirmed what the impact of aspirin may be on preventing infection and reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 and death. Chow hopes this study leads to more research into whether a causal link exists between aspirin use and reduced lung injury in COVID-19 patients.
“Aspirin is cheap, easily accessible and millions are already using it to treat their health conditions,” Chow said. “Finding this association is a great victory for those who want to reduce the risk due to the most devastating effects of COVID-19.”
DOI: 10.1213 / ANE.0000000000005292
In addition to Chow, the study’s authors include David Yamane, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine and anaesthesiology and critical care medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Ivy Benjenk, RN, MPH, Chief Research Coordinator for the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine at GW Hospital; and Shannon Cain, MD, third-year resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences; as well as researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Northeast Georgia Health System.