Association of mortality and aspirin prescription for COVID-19 patients at the Veterans Health Administration

PLoS One. 2021 Feb 11;16(2):e0246825. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246825. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

There is growing evidence that thrombotic and inflammatory pathways contribute to the severity of COVID-19. Common medications such as aspirin, that mitigate these pathways, may decrease COVID-19 mortality. This retrospective assessment was designed to quantify the correlation between pre-diagnosis aspirin and mortality for COVID-19 positive patients in our care. Data from the Veterans Health Administration national electronic health record database was utilized for the evaluation. Veterans from across the country with a first positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction lab result were included in the evaluation which comprised 35,370 patients from March 2, 2020 to September 13, 2020 for the 14-day mortality cohort and 32,836 patients from March 2, 2020 to August 28, 2020 for the 30-day mortality cohort. Patients were matched via propensity scores and the odds of mortality were then compared. Among COVID-19 positive Veterans, preexisting aspirin prescription was associated with a statistically and clinically significant decrease in overall mortality at 14-days (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.32-0.46) and at 30-days (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.33-0.45), cutting the odds of mortality by more than half. Findings demonstrated that pre-diagnosis aspirin prescription was strongly associated with decreased mortality rates for Veterans diagnosed with COVID-19. Prospective evaluation is required to more completely assess this correlation and its implications for patient care.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / therapeutic use*
  • Aspirin / therapeutic use*
  • COVID-19 / diagnosis
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / mortality*
  • COVID-19 Drug Treatment*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Propensity Score
  • Protective Factors
  • Retrospective Studies
  • SARS-CoV-2 / drug effects
  • SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification
  • Veterans Health

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • Aspirin

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.