Impact of optimal therapy for noncommunicable diseases on the course and outcome of COVID-19 inpatients

Aim. To carry out a comparative analysis of the impact of optimal and suboptimal therapy for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at the prehospital stage on the severity and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Material and methods. The study included 158 patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19 and having one or more concomitant NCDs. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the quality of initial therapy for NCDs: group 1 — patients receiving treatment that does not meet modern clinical guidelines, taking drugs not regularly or not taking them at all (n=100; 63%), and group 2 — patients receiving treatment in accordance with current clinical guidelines, taking regularly prescribed therapy (n=58; 37%). The primary endpoint was inhospital death, while secondary endpoints — duration of fever, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, length of hospital stay.

Results. Inhospital mortality was significantly higher in the 1st group of patients compared with the 2nd group (18,0% vs 1,7%, p=0,002). Analysis of secondary endpoints revealed that patients of the 1st group (nonoptimal therapy), in comparison with the 2nd group (optimal therapy), had significantly longer period of fever (10 [7; 12] vs 9 [7; 10] days, p=0,03), longer ICU (0 [0; 3] vs 0 [0; 0] days, p<0,001) and hospital stay (10 [8; 14] vs 8 [7; 11] days, p=0,001).

Conclusion. Patients who received standard NCD therapy before admission to the infectious disease hospital, in accordance with current clinical guidelines and who regularly take drugs, have a more favorable course of COVID-19 at the hospital stage and a lower inhospital mortality rate than patients with suboptimal therapy who are not adherent to treatment or not receiving drugs, but having indications for taking them.

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