Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Noncritically Ill Patients with Covid-19

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  • 1From the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at University Health Network (P.R.L., M.E.F., V.D., J.P.G., L.C.G., G.H.), the University of Toronto (P.R.L., E.C.G., A.S.S., M.E.F., V.D., R.A.F., L.C.G., G.H., M.H.), University Health Network (E.C.G., M.H.), St. Michael's Hospital Unity Health (A.S.S., Z.B., J.C.M., M.S.), Ozmosis Research (L.B., L.P.G.D., V.W.), and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (J.P.G.), Toronto, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (M. Carrier, L.A.C., D.A.F., G.L.G., D.M.S.), Institut du Savoir Montfort (Marc Carrier, G.L.G.), and the University of Ottawa (L.A.C., D.A.F., D.M.S.), Ottawa, Université Laval (A.F.T.) and CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center (A.F.T.), Quebec, QC, the University of Manitoba (B.L.H., A. Kumar, R.Z., S.A.L., D.S., G.V.-G.), CancerCare Manitoba (B.L.H., R.Z.), and St. Boniface Hospital (N.M.), Winnipeg, MB, McGill University, Montreal (S.R.K., E.G.M.), McMaster University (P.L.G.) and the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (P.L.G.), Hamilton, ON, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC (F.L.), the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (S. Murthy, K.R.), and the University of Alberta, Edmonton (S.D.) - all in Canada; NYU Grossman School of Medicine (J.S.B., H.R.R., J.S.H., T.C., N.M.K., S.P.), the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Heart (R.S.R.), NYU Langone Health, NYU Langone Hospital (T.C., J.M.H., E.Y.), and Bellevue Hospital (N.M.K.), New York, Montefiore Medical Center (M.N.G., H.H.B., S.C., J.T.C., R.N.) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine (M.N.G., H.H.B., B.T.G., A. Hope), Bronx, and NYU Langone Long Island, Mineola (R.D.H., A. Hindenburg) - all in New York; the University of Pittsburgh (M.D.N., B.J.M., D.T.H., M.M.B., D.C.A., A.J.K., C.M.L., K.L., S.K.M., C.W.S.), UPMC (M.D.N., B.J.M., D.C.A., K.L., S.K.M.), the Clinical Research, Investigation, and Systems Modeling of Acute Illness (CRISMA) Center, University of Pittsburgh (T.D.G.), and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (C. Horvat), Pittsburgh, and Emergency Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey (S.C.M.) - all in Pennsylvania; Instituto do Coracao, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo (J.C.N., L.C.G., F.G.L.), Avanti Pesquisa Clínica (A.S.M.), Hospital de Julho (F.O.S.), and Hospital do Coracao (F.G.Z.), Sao Paulo, Hospital do Coração de Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (M.P.), Hospital Universitário Maria Aparecida Pedrossia (D.G.S.J.), and Hospital Unimed Campo Grande (D.G.S.J.), Campo Grande, and INGOH, Clinical Research Center, Goiânia (M.O.S.) - all in Brazil; Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City (J.E., Y.S.P.G.); the University of Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (C.A.B.), Bristol, Imperial College London (A.C.G., F.A.-B., M.A.L.), Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St. Mary's Hospital (A.C.G.), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (B.-A.K.), University College London Hospital (R.H.), Kings Healthcare Partners (B.J.H.), the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (P.R.M.), Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (M.S.-H.), and King's College London (M.S.-H.), London, Oxford University (A. Beane, S.J.S.) and NHS Blood and Transplant (L.J.E., S.J.S.), Oxford, and Queen's University Belfast and Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast (D.F.M.) - all in the United Kingdom; Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco (L.Z.K., C. Hendrickson, M.M.K., A.E.K., M.A.M., B.N.-G.), Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance (R.J.L., S. Brouwer), Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (M. Buxton) and the University of California Los Angeles (G.L.), Los Angeles, the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego (T.W.C.), and Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto (J.G.W.) - all in California; Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, Burlington (M. Cushman); Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre, Monash University (Z.M., A.M.H., C.J.M., S.A.W., A. Buzgau, C.G., S.P.M., A.D.N., J.C.P., A.C.C.), and Alfred Health (A.C.C., A.D.N.), Melbourne, VIC, St. John of God Subiaco Hospital (S.A.W., E. Litton) and Fiona Stanley Hospital (E. Litton), Perth, WA, and Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA (S. Bihari) - all in Australia; the University of Illinois (K.S.K., J.R.J., J.G.Q.), Cook County Health and Rush Medical College (S. Malhotra), and the University of Chicago (J.D.P.) - all in Chicago; SOCAR Research SA, Nyon (B.-A.K.), and Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern (T.T.), Bern - all in Switzerland; Berry Consultants, Austin (R.J.L., E. Lorenzi, S.M.B., L.R.B., M.A.D., M.F., A.M., C.T.S.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (A.P.), and Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple (R.J.W.) - all in Texas; Auckland City Hospital (C.J.M., S.P.M., R.L.P.) and the University of Auckland (R.L.P.), Auckland, and the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington (C.J.M., A.M.T.) - all in New Zealand; Vanderbilt University Medical Center (A.W.A.) and TriStar Centennial Medical Center (A.L.G.) - both in Nashville; Fédération Hospitalo Universitaire, Raymond Poincaré Hospital, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Garches (D. Annane), and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille (B.C.) - both in France; King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Y.M.A.); Nepal Mediciti Hospital, Lalitpur, and Nepal Intensive Care Research Foundation, Kathmandu (D. Aryal) - both in Nepal; Versiti Blood Research Institute, Milwaukee (L.B.K., L.J.E.), and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison (J.P.S.); National Intensive Care Surveillance-Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Colombo, Sri Lanka (A. Beane); the University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht (M. Bonten, R.E.G.S., W.B.-P.), and Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen (S. Middeldorp, F.L.V.) - both in the Netherlands; Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany (F.B.); Cleveland Clinic (A.D.) and Case Western Reserve University, the Metro Health Medical Centre (V.K.) - both in Cleveland; Ochsner Medical Center, University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School, New Orleans (M.B.E.); Harvard Medical School (B.M.E., Y.K., N.S.R., A.B.S), Brigham and Women's Hospital (B.M.E., Y.K., S.M.H.), Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (N.M.H.), and Massachusetts General Hospital (A.B.S., N.S.R.) - all in Boston; University of Alabama, Birmingham (S.G.); Hospital Ramón y Cajal (S.G.-M., J.L.L.-S.M., R.M.G.) and IdiPaz Research Institute, Universidad Autonoma (J.L.-S.), Madrid, and University Hospital of Salamanca-University of Salamanca-IBSAL, Salamanca (M.M.) - all in Spain; University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium (H.G.); Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark (Y.Y.G.); University of Oxford, Bangkok, Thailand (R.H.); Ascension St. John Heart and Vascular Center, Tulsa (N.H.), and the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City (N.H.); the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati (K.H.); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (R.C.H., P.K.P.), Beaumont Health, Royal Oak, and the OUWB School of Medicine, Auburn Hills (G.B.N.) - all in Michigan; Mayo Clinic, Rochester (V.N.I.), and the Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis (M.E.P.) - both in Minnesota; Apollo Speciality Hospital-OMR, Chennai, India (D.J.); Oregon Health and Science University, Portland (A. Khan, E.S.L.); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD (A.L.K.); University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson (M.E.K.); University College Dublin, Dublin (A.D.N.); University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City (L.S.); Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC (L.W.); and Emory University, Atlanta (B.J.W.).

Insights

Therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin improved outcomes for noncritically ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19. This treatment increased organ support-free days and survival compared to usual care, with a low risk of major bleeding.

Area of Science:

  • Critical care medicine
  • Infectious diseases
  • Cardiovascular medicine

Background:

  • Thrombosis and inflammation are significant risk factors for mortality and complications in COVID-19 patients.
  • The study investigated the potential benefits of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation in noncritically ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if therapeutic-dose anticoagulation improves outcomes in noncritically ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to standard thromboprophylaxis.
  • To evaluate the effect of anticoagulation on organ support-free days and survival.

Main Methods:

  • An open-label, adaptive, multiplatform, controlled trial randomly assigned noncritically ill COVID-19 patients to therapeutic-dose heparin or usual-care thromboprophylaxis.
  • The primary outcome was organ support-free days up to day 21, combining in-hospital death and days free of organ support.
  • Bayesian statistical models were used for analysis, considering baseline d-dimer levels.

Main Results:

  • Therapeutic-dose anticoagulation showed a 98.6% probability of increasing organ support-free days compared to usual care.
  • The adjusted absolute difference in survival without organ support favored therapeutic-dose anticoagulation by 4.0 percentage points.
  • Major bleeding occurred in 1.9% of patients on therapeutic-dose anticoagulation versus 0.9% on thromboprophylaxis.

Conclusions:

  • In noncritically ill COVID-19 patients, therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin improved survival and reduced the need for organ support compared to usual-care thromboprophylaxis.
  • The findings support an initial strategy of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation for this patient group.
Abstract

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