Different COVID-19 Treatments’ Impact on Clinical and Laboratory Parameters

Background: COVID-19 infection is caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Many efforts were put to effectively treat the disease, but the number of comparative studies on how different antivirals and immunomodulators impact inflammatory markers in SARS-CoV-2–infected subjects is limited. The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate inflammation-mediated changes in COVID-19 patients in relation to the treatment, based on real-world clinical data. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with COVID-19 confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were recruited to the study. The data were retrieved from medical records and comprised medical history, including comorbidities, concomitant therapy, laboratory test results, and clinical outcomes. Charlson Comorbidity Index was calculated for each patient. Lung involvement was evaluated using chest x-ray and/or computed tomography of the chest. The laboratory tests included complete blood count, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin (PCT), and Interleukin (IL)-6. Results: Remdesivir was administered in 33 patients, molnupiravir in 8 patients, and baricitinib in 3 patients. The concentration of PCT, maximum IL-6 concentration, and maximum PLT level were significantly different between the molnupiravir subgroup, the no-treatment subgroup, and other treatment subgroups ( P =0.028, P =0.002, and P =0.009). The extent of lung involvement was significantly lower in the molnupiravir subgroup when compared with remdesivir- and baricitinib-treated patients. Conclusions: We showed that inflammation-mediated markers in hospitalized COVID-19 patients were related to clinical symptoms and varied across treatment groups.