8 must-read COVID-19 RCTs in NEJM

  1. Efficacy of Tocilizumab in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19
    Conclusions: Tocilizumab was not effective for preventing intubation or death in moderately ill hospitalized patients with Covid-19. Some benefit or harm cannot be ruled out, however, because the confidence intervals for efficacy comparisons were wide.
  2. Effect of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19
    Conclusions: Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19, those who received hydroxychloroquine did not have a lower incidence of death at 28 days than those who received usual care.
  3. Hydroxychloroquine with or without Azithromycin in Mild-to-Moderate Covid-19
    Conclusions: Among patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate Covid-19, the use of hydroxychloroquine, alone or with azithromycin, did not improve clinical status at 15 days as compared with standard care.
  4. Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 — Preliminary Report
    Conclusions: In patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support.
  5. A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19
    Conclusions: After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure.
  6. Remdesivir for 5 or 10 Days in Patients with Severe Covid-19
    Conclusions: In patients with severe Covid-19 not requiring mechanical ventilation, our trial did not show a significant difference between a 5-day course and a 10-day course of remdesivir. With no placebo control, however, the magnitude of benefit cannot be determined.
  7. Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Final Report
    Conclusions: Our data show that remdesivir was superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery in adults who were hospitalized with Covid-19 and had evidence of lower respiratory tract infection.
  8. A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19
    Conclusions: In hospitalized adult patients with severe Covid-19, no benefit was observed with lopinavir–ritonavir treatment beyond standard care. Future trials in patients with severe illness may help to confirm or exclude the possibility of a treatment benefit.
Tommaso Scquizzato
Tommaso Scquizzato

Tommaso Scquizzato is a researcher in the fields of cardiac arrest and resuscitation science at the Center for Intensive Care and Anesthesiology of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. He is the Social Media Editor of Resuscitation, member of the Social Media Working Group of ILCOR, and member of the ERC BLS Science and Education Committee.

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