A RETROSPECTIVE study highlighted the effectiveness of remdesivir in reducing 30-day COVID-19-related readmissions among vulnerable patient populations, including older adults and those with immunocompromising conditions. Conducted using data from over 200,000 hospitalized patients across the U.S. during the Omicron era, this large-scale research underscores remdesivir’s potential in enhancing post-hospitalization outcomes.
The study, which analyzed patients discharged alive from COVID-19 hospitalizations between December 2021 and February 2024, revealed significant findings. Of the 210,586 eligible patients, 52% received remdesivir during their initial hospital stay. After balancing for patient characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), the results showed that remdesivir recipients had 30-day readmission rates of 3.3%, compared to 4.2% in those who did not receive the antiviral (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.75–0.80).
This protective effect remained consistent across key subgroups. Among elderly patients, remdesivir reduced readmission odds from 4.7% to 3.7%, while in immunocompromised patients, the rates dropped from 6.2% to 5.3%. Importantly, the effectiveness was observed regardless of the patient’s oxygen requirements during hospitalization.
These findings suggest that remdesivir could play a critical role in improving care transitions and reducing the burden on healthcare systems by lowering readmissions. Healthcare professionals may consider these results when developing treatment plans for high-risk patients with COVID-19.
Reference: Mozaffari E et al. Remdesivir effectiveness in reducing the risk of 30-day readmission in vulnerable patients hospitalized for COVID-19: A retrospective US cohort study using propensity scores. Clin Infect Dis. 2024;ciae511.
