Researchers at George Washington University found that aspirin can have lung protection effects and reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, ICU admission and hospital mortality in hospitalized patients COVID-19 patients.
Researchers at George Washington University found that low-dose aspirin can reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, admission to the ICU and hospital mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The final results that indicate the pulmonary protective effects of aspirin have been published in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
“As we learned about the connection between blood clots and COVID-19, we knew that aspirin – used to prevent strokes and heart attacks – could be important for patients with COVID-19,” Jonathan Chow, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology and intensive care medicine and director of the Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, he said. “Our research found an association between low-dose aspirin and decreased COVID-19 severity and death.”
More than 400 patients admitted from March to July 2020 to hospitals in the United States, including those at GW Hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Northeast Georgia Health System, were included in the study. After adjusting for demographic data and comorbidities, the use of aspirin was associated with a decreased risk of mechanical ventilation (reduction of 44%), admission to the ICU (reduction of 43%) and hospital mortality (reduction of 47%). There were no differences in major bleeding or evident thrombosis between aspirin users and non-aspirin users.
The preliminary findings were first published as a preprint in the fall of 2020. Since then, other studies have confirmed the impact that aspirin can have on preventing infections and reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 and death. Chow hopes that this study will lead to more research on whether there is a causal relationship between the use of aspirin and the reduction of lung injury in patients with COVID-19.
“Aspirin is low-cost, easily accessible and millions are already using it to treat their health problems,” said Chow. “Finding that association is a huge victory for those looking to reduce the risk of some of 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 anesthesiology and intensive care medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Ivy Benjenk, RN, MPH, principal research coordinator, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Hospital GW; and Shannon Cain, MD, a third-year resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences GW; as well as researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Northeast Georgia Health System.