Baseline Drug Treatments as Indicators of Increased Risk of COVID-19 Mortality in Spain and Italy

Kevin Bliek-Bueno, Sara Mucherino, Beatriz Poblador-Plou, Francisca González-Rubio, Mercedes Aza-Pascual-Salcedo, Valentina Orlando, Mercedes Clerencia-Sierra, Ignatios Ioakeim-Skoufa, Enrico Coscioni, Jonás Carmona-Pírez, Alessandro Perrella, Ugo Trama, Alexandra Prados-Torres, Enrica Menditto and Antonio Gimeno-Miguel
Additional contact information
Kevin Bliek-Bueno: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Sara Mucherino: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Farmacoeconomia e Farmacoutilizzazione (CIRFF), Center of Drug Utilization and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
Beatriz Poblador-Plou: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Francisca González-Rubio: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Mercedes Aza-Pascual-Salcedo: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Valentina Orlando: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Farmacoeconomia e Farmacoutilizzazione (CIRFF), Center of Drug Utilization and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
Mercedes Clerencia-Sierra: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Ignatios Ioakeim-Skoufa: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Enrico Coscioni: Division of Cardiac Surgery, AOU San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona, 84131 Salerno, Italy
Jonás Carmona-Pírez: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Alessandro Perrella: Infectious Disease of Healthcare Direction, AORN Antonio Cardarelli, 80131 Naples, Italy
Ugo Trama: Regional Pharmaceutical Unit, Campania Region, 80143 Naples, Italy
Alexandra Prados-Torres: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Enrica Menditto: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Farmacoeconomia e Farmacoutilizzazione (CIRFF), Center of Drug Utilization and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
Antonio Gimeno-Miguel: EpiChron Research Group, Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: This study aims to identify baseline medications that, as a proxy for the diseases they are dispensed for, are associated with increased risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients from two regions in Spain and Italy using real-world data. We conducted a cross-country, retrospective, observational study including 8570 individuals from both regions with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 4 March and 17 April 2020, and followed them for a minimum of 30 days to allow sufficient time for the studied event, in this case death, to occur. Baseline demographic variables and all drugs dispensed in community pharmacies three months prior to infection were extracted from the PRECOVID Study cohort (Aragon, Spain) and the Campania Region Database (Campania, Italy) and analyzed using logistic regression models. Results show that the presence at baseline of potassium-sparing agents, antipsychotics, vasodilators, high-ceiling diuretics, antithrombotic agents, vitamin B12, folic acid, and antiepileptics were systematically associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients from both countries. Treatments for chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, systemic inflammation, and processes with increased risk of thrombosis as proxies for the conditions they are intended for can serve as timely indicators of an increased likelihood of mortality after the infection, and the assessment of pharmacological profiles can be an additional approach to the identification of at-risk individuals in clinical practice.

Keywords: COVID-19; medications; drugs; mortality; real-world data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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