Remdesivir

Research has shown that neither remdesivir nor hydroxychloroquine had any effect on COVID-19 mortality, and now findings indicate that the drugs had no significant effect on the rate of SARS-CoV-2 clearance in oropharyngeal samples.

A weighted lottery that was designed to increase access to remdesivir early in the COVID-19 pandemic for those most affected by the virus resulted in more equitable distribution of the medication, researchers reported.

The NIH has closed enrollment to the fourth iteration of the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, indicating that neither treatment — baricitinib plus remdesivir or dexamethasone plus remdesivir — outperforms the other.

Given the global deluge of data investigating COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases, clinicians continue to struggle with divergent evidence and recommendations, noted a speaker at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium.

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had shorter times to clinical improvement when treated with remdesivir, but the drug had no significant effect in a time-to-death analysis, even when given with corticosteroids, according to researchers.

Patients with COVID-19 who require supplemental oxygen, or noninvasive or mechanical ventilation, should receive systemic glucocorticoids as they can decrease mortality, according to EULAR “points to consider.”

A new study will evaluate remdesivir as a COVID-19 treatment in pregnant women, the NIH said.

The ACP announced it was asserting its previous Rapid Living Practice Points that 5- and 10-day courses of remdesivir provide “a net benefit” vs. placebo or standard care in hospitalized, nonpregnant adults with COVID-19.

We end the year with Leonard Calabrese, DO, giving us a summary of what we’ve learned about COVID-19 from the perspective of a rheumatologist.

Following hospitalization with COVID-19, remdesivir improved kidney function in most patients with eGFRs of less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 and was generally well-tolerated, according to study findings.