Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38361992›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2024

Immunomodulators for immunocompromised patients hospitalized for COVID-19: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Ilias I Siempos, Andre C Kalil, Drifa Belhadi, Viviane Cordeiro Veiga, Alexandre Biasi Cavalcanti, Westyn Branch-Elliman, Eleni Papoutsi, Konstantinos Gkirgkiris, Nikoleta A Xixi, Anastasia Kotanidou and 7 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04315948 (Multi-centre, Adaptive, Randomized Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Treatments of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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.

NCT04315948 phase3completednot on this map

Multi-centre, Adaptive, Randomized Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Treatments of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorInstitut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, FranceRan2020 to 2023Enrolled1,552ConditionsCorona Virus InfectionArmsRemdesivir, Lopinavir/ritonavir, Interferon Beta-1A, Hydroxychloroquine, Standard of care
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Emerging and Pandemic Pathogens: Lessons Learned From a Clinical Research Network.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2025
    Review
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Article
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

17 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Ilias I SiemposFirst Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Andre C KalilDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Drifa BelhadiDépartement d'Épidémiologie, Biostatistiques et Recherche Clinique, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Bichat, Paris, France.
Viviane Cordeiro VeigaBP-A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Alexandre Biasi CavalcantiBrazilian Research in Intensive Care Network (BRICNet), São Paulo, Brazil.
Westyn Branch-EllimanDepartment of Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
Eleni PapoutsiFirst Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Konstantinos GkirgkirisFirst Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Nikoleta A XixiFirst Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Anastasia KotanidouFirst Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, Evangelismos Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Olivier HermineDépartement d'hématologie, Hôpital Necker, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Université de Paris, Institut Imagine, INSERM U1183, Paris, France.
Raphaël PorcherCentre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS-UMR1153), Inserm / Université Paris, Centre d'épidémiologie Clinique, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, France.
Xavier MarietteDépartement de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Bicêtre, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Saclay, INSERM UMR 1184, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France.
CORIMUNO-19 Collaborative Group
DisCoVeRy Study Group
ACTT-2 Study Group
ACTT-3 Study Group
Inserm · FRNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens · GRHarvard University · USHôpital Necker-Enfants Malades · FRBrazilian Research in Intensive Care Network · BRUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center · US

Funding

Influenza and Emerging Infectious DiseasesZIAAI000984 · NIAID · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES · PI DAVEY, RICHARD · 2009 to 2025
$44.1M
Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at Saint Louis University - DMID 20-0034UM1AI148685 · NIAID · SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY · PI Daniel F. Hoft · 2020 to 2026
$34.6M
University of Rochester Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU)-mRNA-1273-P204 Moderna Pediatric StudyUM1AI148450 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Angela Ramona Branche, Ann R Falsey · 2020 to 2026
$20.6M
Human Cellular Immune Programming Against Invasive SalmonellaK08AI143923 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI RAPAKA, REKHA R · 2019 to 2023
$798k
Durability and mechanisms of dengue vaccine and infection mediated immunityI01CX002688 · VA · ST. LOUIS VA MEDICAL CENTER · PI Sarah George · 2024 to 2026
–
CSRD VA I01 CX002688NIAID NIH HHS K08 AI143923NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI148450NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI148685
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Although immunomodulators have established benefit against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in general, it is uncertain whether such agents improve outcomes without increasing the risk of secondary infections in the specific subgroup of previously immunocompromised patients. We assessed the effect of immunomodulators on outcomes of immunocompromised patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Methods: The protocol was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022335397). MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and references of relevant articles were searched up to 01-06-2022. Authors of potentially eligible randomized controlled trials were contacted to provide data on immunocompromised patients randomized to immunomodulators vs control (i.e., placebo or standard-of-care). Findings: Eleven randomized controlled trials involving 397 immunocompromised patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were included. Ten trials had low risk of bias. There was no difference between immunocompromised patients randomized to immunomodulators vs control regarding mortality [30/182 (16.5%) vs 41/215 (19.1%); RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.61-1.41; p = 0.74], secondary infections (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.64-1.58; p = 0.99) and change in World Health Organization ordinal scale from baseline to day 15 (weighed mean difference 0.27, 95% CI -0.09-0.63; p = 0.15). In subgroup analyses including only patients with hematologic malignancy, only trials with low risk of bias, only trials administering IL-6 inhibitors, or only trials administering immunosuppressants, there was no difference between comparators regarding mortality. Interpretation: Immunomodulators, compared to control, were not associated with harmful or beneficial outcomes, including mortality, secondary infections, and change in ordinal scale, when administered to immunocompromised patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Funding: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation.

Indexed as

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failureAcute respiratory distress syndromeCancerCritically illPneumonia

Identifiers

PMID38361992
PMCPMC10867612
OpenAlexW4391689781

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.