Published online Jan 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i1.47
Peer-review started: October 9, 2020
First decision: November 3, 2020
Revised: November 9, 2020
Accepted: November 21, 2020
Article in press: November 21, 2020
Published online: January 6, 2021
Processing time: 84 Days and 3.3 Hours
Recent studies have revealed that sustained ingestion of angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEIs/ARBs) had no harmful effects on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients complicated with hypertension.
To investigate the impact on COVID-19 patients complicated with hypertension who discontinued using ACEIs/ARBs.
All COVID-19 patients complicated with hypertension admitted to our isolated unit were consecutively recruited in this study. Some patients switched from ACEIs/ARBs to calcium channel blocker (CCBs) after admission, while others continued using non-ACEIs/ARBs. We compared characteristics and clinical outcomes between these two groups of patients.
A total of 53 patients were enrolled, 27 patients switched from ACEIs/ARBs to CCBs while 26 patients continued with non-ACEIs/ARBs. After controlling potential confounding factors using the Cox proportional hazards model, hospital stay was longer in patients who discontinued ACEIs/ARBs, with a hazard ratio of 0.424 (95% confidence interval: 0.187-0.962; P = 0.040), upon discharge than patients using other anti-hypertensive drugs. A sub-group analysis showed that the effect of discontinuing use of ACEIs/ARBs was stronger in moderate cases [hazard ratio = 0.224 (95% confidence interval: 0.005-0.998; P = 0.0497)].
Patients in the discontinued ACEIs/ARBs group had longer hospital stays. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 patients complicated with hypertension should continue to use ACEIs/ARBs.
Core Tip: Recent research revealed that use of angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEIs/ARBs) had no significant harm on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients complicated with hypertension. However, the impact of discontinue using ACEIs/ARBs in those patients was still unclear. In the present study, we retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients with both COVID-19 and hypertension to explore whether any difference in disease outcomes existed between patients who discontinued using ACEIs/ARBs and those who continued using other anti-hypertensive drugs.
