A Retrospective Cohort Study Assessing the Impact of Statin Therapy on Hospital Length of Stay and Inpatient Mortality in COVID-19 Patients.

Background: Coronaviruses, known for their crown-like appearance, cause mild gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Some cause outbreaks of respiratory diseases, most recently, SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Individuals with COVID-19 are reported to be in both arterial and venous prothrombotic states. In addition to a lipid-lowering effect, statin also has an anti-inflammatory effect, which addresses one of the underlying causes of thrombosis. An Methods: A total of 26 445 acute COVID-19-infected patients were included in this study. Patients were stratified based on home statin use status: no statins, high-intensity statins (atorvastatin 40-80 mg daily and rosuvastatin 20-40 mg daily), and low-to-moderate intensity statins (all other statins). A multivariate generalized linear model and logistic regression were used to predict the hospital length of stay and inpatient mortality, respectively. Results: The hospital length of stay was compared between low-intensity and high-intensity statin use against no statin therapy. The length of stay was 3.88 days (95% CI, 3.56-4.20; Conclusion: Hospitalized COVID-19 patients on statin therapy, regardless of intensity, are more likely to have a longer length of stay. There may be a mortality benefit in using high-intensity statin in acute COVID-19-infected patients. The results of this study are insufficient to recommend statin therapy for inpatient COVID-19 treatment. However, patients with significant cardiovascular comorbidities, where statins are indicated, should be on these medications, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the potential in-hospital benefit of statin therapy on COVID-19 patients.