Published online Mar 25, 2024. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v13.i1.88660
Peer-review started: October 4, 2023
First decision: October 9, 2023
Revised: November 9, 2023
Accepted: December 29, 2023
Article in press: December 29, 2023
Published online: March 25, 2024
Processing time: 159 Days and 8.1 Hours
Bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody (mAb), has been used as a therapeutic agent for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Previous studies have shown that bamlanivimab may be effective in treating COVID-19 patients.
Despite several studies evaluating the clinical benefit of bamlanivimab in COVID-19 patients, there is currently no comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis assessing its efficacy and safety as a treatment.
This study aims to evaluate the use of bamlanivimab in improving efficacy outcomes compared to other treatments in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, the safety profile of bamlanivimab is compared to control groups.
A thorough search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, medRxiv, and Google Scholar up to January 25, 2023. Cochrane bias tools were utilized to assess the risk of bias in the included studies. Data analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 3).
A total of 30 studies were identified and included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed a significant difference between the bamlanivimab and standard of care/placebo groups in terms of mortality rate, hospitalization rate, and emergency department (ED) visits. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding intensive care unit (ICU) admission. When compared to other mAbs, bamlanivimab did not demonstrate superior efficacy in terms of hospitalization rate, mortality rate, ICU admission, and ED visits. No significant difference was observed between the treatment groups in terms of adverse events.
Although the present results demonstrate the efficacy and safety of bamlanivimab in treating COVID-19, further research is necessary to confirm its effectiveness against novel circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants.
In the future, studies should be focused on the efficacy of bamlanivimab against the current SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially in immunocompromised patients who are more susceptible to the new SARS-CoV-2 variants in terms of mutations and resistance to treatment with mAbs. Moreover, the comorbidity percentage and COVID-19 vaccination rate should be considered in evaluating the efficacy of bamlanivimab in COVID-19 patients.