A team of researchers in Denmark have conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate whether angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use is associated with diagnosis of, and/or and worse outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Of the 4,480 patients with COVID-19 included in the study (median age 54.7 years), 20.0% were ACEI/ARB users and 80.0% were non-users. The researchers found no significant differences between the two groups for risk of death or severe COVID-19 (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.83). In addition, ACEI/ARBs were not significantly associated with higher prevalence of COVID-19 in comparison to other antihypertensive medications (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.05). These findings demonstrate that ACEIs/ARBs are not significantly associated with COVID-19 diagnosis, severity or mortality, and do not support cessation of these antihypertensives in the COVID-19 pandemic setting. Read the full text here.
Contributed by Isabella Singh, Australian Medication Safety Services Associate.