Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19 Article

Full Text via DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2103417 Web of Science: 000683387200001
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Cited authors

  • Goligher EC, Bradbury CA, McVerry BJ, Lawler PR, Berger JS, Gong MN, Carrier M, Reynolds HR, Kumar A, Turgeon AF, Kornblith LZ, Kahn SR, Marshall JC, Kim KS, Houston BL, Derde LPG, Cushman M, Tritschler T, Angus DC, Godoy LC, McQuilten Z, Kirwan BA, Farkouh ME, Brooks MM, Lewis RJ, Berry LR, Lorenzi E, Gordon AC, Berry SM, McArthur CJ, Neal MD, Hochman JS, Webb SA, Zarychanski R, Ahuja T, Al-Beidh F, Annane D, Arabi YM, Aryal D, Kreuziger LB, Beane A, Bhimani Z, Bihari S, Billett HH, Bond L, Bonten M, Brunkhorst F, Buxton M, Buzgau A, Castellucci LA, Chekuri S, Chen JT, Cheng AC, Chkhikvadze T, Coiffard B, Contreras A, Costantini TW, de Brouwer S, Detry MA, Duggal A, Dzavik V, Effron MB, Eng HF, Escobedo J, Estcourt LJ, Everett BM, Fergusson DA, Fitzgerald M, Fowler RA, Froess JD, Fu ZX, Galanaud JP, Galen BT, Gandotra S, Girard TD, Goodman AL, Goossens H, Green C, Greenstein YY, Gross PL, Haniffa R, Hegde SM, Hendrickson CM, Higgins AM, Hindenburg AA, Hope AA, Horowitz JM, Horvat CM, Huang DT, Hudock K, Hunt BJ, Husain M, Hyzy RC, Jacobson JR, Jayakumar D, Keller NM, Khan A, Kim Y, Kindzelski A, King AJ, Kornblith AE, Kutcher ME, Laffan MA, Lamontagne F, Le Gal G, Leeper CM, Leifer ES, Lim G, Lima FG, Linstrum K, Litton E, Lopez-Sendon J, Lother SA, Marten N, Marinez AS, Martinez M, Garcia EM, Mavromichalis S, McAuley DF, McDonald EG, McGlothlin A, McGuinness SP, Middeldorp S, Montgomery SK, Mouncey PR, Murthy S, Nair GB, Nair R, Nichol AD, Nicolau JC, Nunez-Garcia B, Park JJ, Park PK, Parke RL, Parker JC, Parnia S, Paul JD, Pompilio M, Quigley JG, Rosenson RS, Rost NS, Rowan K, Santos FO, Santos M, Santos MO, Satterwhite L, Saunders CT, Schreiber J, Schutgens REG, Seymour CW, Siegal DM, Silva DG, Singhal AB, Slutsky AS, Solvason D, Turner AM, Van Bentum-Puijk W, van de Veerdonk FL, van Diepen S, Vazquez-Grande G, Wahid L, Wareham V, Widmer RJ, Wilson JG, Yuriditsky E, Zhong YQ

Abstract

  • BACKGROUNDThrombosis and inflammation may contribute to morbidity and mortality among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). We hypothesized that therapeutic-dose anticoagulation would improve outcomes in critically ill patients with Covid-19.METHODSIn an open-label, adaptive, multiplatform, randomized clinical trial, critically ill patients with severe Covid-19 were randomly assigned to a pragmatically defined regimen of either therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin or pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis in accordance with local usual care. The primary outcome was organ support-free days, evaluated on an ordinal scale that combined in-hospital death (assigned a value of -1) and the number of days free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support up to day 21 among patients who survived to hospital discharge.RESULTSThe trial was stopped when the prespecified criterion for futility was met for therapeutic-dose anticoagulation. Data on the primary outcome were available for 1098 patients (534 assigned to therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and 564 assigned to usual-care thromboprophylaxis). The median value for organ support-free days was 1 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) among the patients assigned to therapeuticdose anticoagulation and was 4 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) among the patients assigned to usual-care thromboprophylaxis (adjusted proportional odds ratio, 0.83; 95% credible interval, 0.67 to 1.03; posterior probability of futility [defined as an odds ratio <1.2], 99.9%). The percentage of patients who survived to hospital discharge was similar in the two groups (62.7% and 64.5%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 0.84; 95% credible interval, 0.64 to 1.11). Major bleeding occurred in 3.8% of the patients assigned to therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and in 2.3% of those assigned to usual-care pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis.CONCLUSIONSIn critically ill patients with Covid-19, an initial strategy of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin did not result in a greater probability of survival to hospital discharge or a greater number of days free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support than did usual-care pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis.

Authors

Publication date

  • 2021

Published in

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0028-4793

Number of pages

  • 13