Does baricitinib reduce mortality and disease progression in SARS-CoV-2 virus infected patients? A systematic review and meta analysis

Manoharan S; Ying LY

doi:10.1016/j.rmed.2022.106986

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Does baricitinib reduce mortality and disease progression in SARS-CoV-2 virus infected patients? A systematic review and meta analysis

Manoharan S ¹ , Ying LY ²

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Pathology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Setia Alam, 40170, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: sivananthan@moh.gov.my
² Asia Metropolitan University, Bandar Baru Seri Alam, 81750, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Respir Med, 2022 Oct;202:106986.

PMID: 36150282 DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2022.106986

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting reports on the results of several of the latest clinical trials related to the use of baricitinib in the management of COVID-19 patients. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of baricitinib in COVID-19 patients.

METHODS: Databases like ScienceDirect, PubMed/Medline, Publons, Google Scholar and other sources like ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane, medRxiv, Research Square and reference lists were thoroughly searched.

RESULTS: Fifteen (15) articles which met the inclusion criteria were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Based on Cochrane and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) risk of bias (RoB) analyses, 14/15 articles are grouped as high-quality. Meta-analyses revealed that randomised control trials (RCTs) and non-randomised control trials (nRCTs) statistically significantly reduced the mortality rate in COVID-19 patients, with a risk ratio (RR) in the fixed-effect model was RR = 0.64 [95% CI: 0.51 to 0.79; p

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.