The use of low-dose aspirin may reduce ICU admissions and hospital deaths of COVID-19 patients, according to a new study.
Researchers at George Washington University published their results on Wednesday, which indicate the protective effects of the lungs of over-the-counter, over-the-counter pills in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.
Doctors have been particularly interested in studying the effects of aspirin on coronavirus patients because it is one of the cheapest, most available drugs. Other medicines to treat COVID-19, such as remdesivir, can be prohibitively expensive.
COVID-19 has been associated with an increased risk of blood clots in some patients – acetylsalicylic acid is a drug known for diluting the blood and anti-platelets, provoking the interest of researchers to further study the drug.
“Our hospitals were overwhelmed, patients died at an alarmingly high rate, and I slept in my office so we could provide 24/7 care to our COVID ICU patients at night,” said study author Dr. Jonathan Chow , for CBS News Friday. Uncertainty scared us for what might come next. Despite this, we knew we needed to look at the science and data to see what therapeutics were available to give hope to these patients.
However, its effects on ventilation, ICU admission and mortality rates have not been studied, the researchers said.
“As we learned about the link between blood clots and COVID-19, we learned that aspirin – used to prevent stroke and heart attack – could be important for patients with COVID-19,” Chow said in -a statement. Our research has found an association between low dose aspirin and low severity of COVID-19 and death.
The researchers studied more than 400 inpatients from March to July 2020 in hospitals across the country, including GW Hospital, University of Maryland Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Northeast Georgia Health System.
They found that aspirin use resulted in a 44% reduction in ventilator use, a 43% reduction in intensive care admission, and a 47% reduction in hospital mortality.
“COVID-19 has been shown to cause the formation of excess platelets throughout the body, which causes the formation of micro-clots in the lungs and larger clots in the major blood vessels. Aspirin is a COX-1 inhibitor that decreases platelet aggregation and thrombus. It acts rapidly within 30 minutes to 3 hours and then inactivates platelets over the life of platelets, “Chow told CBS News. platelets of aspirin that led to the association with improved outcomes, such as the reduced risk of ICU admission and death, that we observed in our study. ”
Chow said he hopes the findings will lead to further research, especially randomized controlled trials, into the possible link between aspirin use and reduced lung damage in coronavirus patients, now that some hospitals are not as well off. overwhelmed as they were at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Aspirin is cheap, easily accessible and millions are already using it to treat their health conditions,” Chow said. “Finding this association is a huge gain for those who want to reduce the risk of some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19.”
So patients with COVID-19 should run to the pharmacy? Not so fast.
“I would advise all COVID-19 patients to consult with their primary care physician so that they can properly weigh the risks and benefits. Because aspirin is a blood thinner, the main risk is internal bleeding,” Chow said. Although it does not replace vaccines or masks, the combination we have found with aspirin is a huge gain for those who want to reduce the risk of some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19.