Major Update 2: Remdesivir for Adults With COVID-19: A Living Systematic Review and Meta-analysis for the American College of Physicians Practice Points
This final update (5 RCTs [1 new] and 2 subtrials [1 new]) finds remdesivir probably results in little to no mortality reduction, a moderate increase in proportion of patients recovered by day 29, and may reduce time to clinical improvement and hospital length of stay.
Source:
Annals of Internal Medicine
SPS commentary:
The newly included RCTs strengthen previous findings on the benefit of remdesivir on the proportion of patients receiving ventilation or ECMO at follow-up but decreases the strength of previous findings on the reduction of serious adverse events with remdesivir. Another major change for this update was the low certainty of an increase in any adverse event with remdesivir (compared with a previous finding of little or no change in any adverse event). Other findings of the effect of a 10-day course of remdesivir compared with either placebo or standard care are confirmed or unchanged.
The Scientific Medical Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians is maintaining rapid, living practice points on the use of remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19. The updated version, based on this review, is now available.