Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33208294›Full record

ArticleInternational immunopharmacology2021

The effect of thymosin α1 on mortality of critical COVID-19 patients: A multicenter retrospective study.

Qin Sun, Jianfeng Xie, Ruiqiang Zheng, Xuyan Li, Hui Chen, Zhaohui Tong, Bin Du, Haibo Qiu, Yi Yang

Open access · greenAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in International immunopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Observational
  7. Article
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  11. Thymosin a1 use is not associated with reduced COVID-19 mortality.The American journal of emergency medicine · 2022
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Therapeutic Agents Rounding Up the Immunopathology of COVID-19.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2021
    Review
  14. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Qin SunJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao Road, Gulou District, Nanjing 210009, PR China.
Jianfeng XieJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao Road, Gulou District, Nanjing 210009, PR China.
Ruiqiang ZhengDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Yangzhou University, No. 98, Nantongxi Road, Guangling District, Yangzhou 225000, PR China.
Xuyan LiDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8, Gongtinan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100000, PR China.
Hui ChenDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Road, Suzhou 215000, PR China.
Zhaohui TongDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8, Gongtinan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100000, PR China.
Bin DuDepartment of Medical ICU, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 53, Dongdabei Road, Beijing 100000, PR China.
Haibo QiuJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao Road, Gulou District, Nanjing 210009, PR China.
Yi YangJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao Road, Gulou District, Nanjing 210009, PR China. Electronic address: yiyiyang2004@163.com.
Zhongda Hospital Southeast University · CNCapital Medical University · CNFirst Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University · CNNorthern Jiangsu People's Hospital · CNPeking Union Medical College Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThymosin α1 therapy was commonly used in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), while its impact on outcomes and which patients could benefit from thymosin α1 therapy were uncertain. STUDY DESIGN AND

methodsPatients with COVID-19 from 19 designated hospitals between January 1 to February 29, 2020 were included, and the main exposure of interest was administration of thymosin α1. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to account for baseline confounders, cluster analysis and Cox proportional hazard model was used to account for subgroup analysis.

resultsA total of 771 patients were included, and 327/771 (42.4%) patients received thymosin α1 therapy. The 28-day mortality in thymosin group was significantly lower than that in control group (41.3% vs. 60.6%, p < 0.001). After PSM 522 patients were included in analysis and the 28-day mortality in thymosin α1 group and control group were 51.0% and 52.9% respectively, with no significant difference. In subgroup analyses, the association between thymosin α1 therapy and 28-day mortality appeared to be stronger among male patients (HR 0.673, 95% CI 0.454-0.998; p = 0.049). There were no benefits of thymosin α1 in 28-day mortality in other subgroups. There were two phenotypes after cluster analysis, but no benefits of thymosin α1 were shown in phenotype 1 (HR 0.823 95% CI 0.581-1.166; p = 0.273) and phenotype 2 (HR 1.148 95% CI 0.710-1.895; p = 0.442).

conclusionThere was no association between use of thymosin α1 and decreased mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Subgroups analysis and phenotype analysis also showed no differences on mortality after thymosin α1 therapy.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Drug TreatmentSARS-CoV-2Adjuvants, ImmunologicAgedCOVID-19Critical IllnessFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSurvival AnalysisThymalfasinAdjuvants, ImmunologicThymalfasinCOVID-19MortalityThymosin α1

Identifiers

PMID33208294
PMCPMC7604217
OpenAlexW3095201647

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.