Abstract
BackgroundTo evaluate and determine the protective role of statins in COVID-19 patients.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study conducted across five hospitals in India. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized with existing and valid medical documentation were included.ResultsThis study comprised 3252 COVID-19 patients, of whom 1048 (32.2%) were on statins, with 52.4% being males. The comorbidity prevalence of hypertension was 75%, followed by diabetes 62.51% and coronary artery disease being 47.5%. At the time of hospitalization, statin users had a higher incidence of dyspnea, cough, and fatigue (95.8, 93.3, and 92.7%). The laboratory results revealed a lower mean of WBC count (7.8 × 103/μL), D-dimer (2.4 μg/mL), and C-reactive protein (103 mg/L) among statin users. They also had lower mortality rates (17.1%), a lesser requirement for mechanical ventilation (20%), and hemodialysis (5.4%).ConclusionThis observation study elaborates on the beneficial effects of statins in COVID-19 patients. However, the inferences from this study should be viewed with caution due to the impending effect of confounding factors on its statistical results.
Highlights
To evaluate and determine the protective role of statins in COVID-19 patients
The innumerable beneficial effects of statins are widely explored in medicine; this wonder drug is associated with few adverse effects, as reported in previous literature studies
Statin users were more commonly associated with comorbidities, including hypertension (75.0% vs 58.0%), diabetes mellitus (62.5% vs 40.3%), coronary artery disease (47.5% vs 37.1%), heart failure (41.9% vs 33.0%), chronic lung disease (39.1% vs 24.3%), chronic kidney disease (37.2% vs 15.9%), cerebrovascular accidents (11.0% vs 2.9%) [p < 0.01 for both], and liver disease (6.8% vs 3.9%) (Table 1)
Summary
To evaluate and determine the protective role of statins in COVID-19 patients. The novel SARS-CoV-2 infection initiated a worldwide pandemic in March 2021 [1]. Statin’s augment ACE2 expression and reduce the inflammatory activity within the pulmonary vasculature, improving the clinical outcome and reducing mortality in COVID-19 patients [11, 12]. Statins exhibit immunomodulatory actions in several autoimmune diseases (lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis) [14]. These immunomodulatory effects by statins are produced by reducing the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression, resulting in suppression of antigen presentation and T-cell activation [15]. The innumerable beneficial effects of statins are widely explored in medicine; this wonder drug is associated with few adverse effects, as reported in previous literature studies. Few observational studies have claimed statins are associated with neuropathy, sleep disorders, and erectile dysfunction [17, 18]
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