Drug-utilisation Profiles and COVID-19: Retrospective Cohort Study in Italy
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has wrought havoc on healthcare systems worldwide. Age, chronic diseases, use of drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), male sex and genetic predisposition have been postulated as risk factors for adverse outcomes in COVID-19 cases. A retrospective drug-utilisation study was carried out using information collected routinely in a healthcare database (CaReDB) in Campania (Southern Italy). We wished to discover the prevalence of drug utilisation (monotherapy and polytherapy) in COVID-19 vs. non-COVID-19 patients in Campania (~6 million inhabitants). The study cohort was 1,532 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Drugs were grouped according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. We noted a higher prevalence of use of drugs in the ATC category C01, B01 and M04, and this was probably linked to related comorbidities (i.e., cardiovascular, metabolic). Nevertheless, the prevalence of use of drugs acting on the RAS, such as antihypertensive drugs, was not higher among COVID-19 patients compared with that in non-COVID-19 patients. These results highlight the need for further case–control studies to define the effect of medications and comorbidities on susceptibility to, and associated mortality from, COVID-19.
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Posted 29 May, 2020
Drug-utilisation Profiles and COVID-19: Retrospective Cohort Study in Italy
Posted 29 May, 2020
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has wrought havoc on healthcare systems worldwide. Age, chronic diseases, use of drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), male sex and genetic predisposition have been postulated as risk factors for adverse outcomes in COVID-19 cases. A retrospective drug-utilisation study was carried out using information collected routinely in a healthcare database (CaReDB) in Campania (Southern Italy). We wished to discover the prevalence of drug utilisation (monotherapy and polytherapy) in COVID-19 vs. non-COVID-19 patients in Campania (~6 million inhabitants). The study cohort was 1,532 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Drugs were grouped according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. We noted a higher prevalence of use of drugs in the ATC category C01, B01 and M04, and this was probably linked to related comorbidities (i.e., cardiovascular, metabolic). Nevertheless, the prevalence of use of drugs acting on the RAS, such as antihypertensive drugs, was not higher among COVID-19 patients compared with that in non-COVID-19 patients. These results highlight the need for further case–control studies to define the effect of medications and comorbidities on susceptibility to, and associated mortality from, COVID-19.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3