Statin therapy did not improve the in-hospital outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection

Background and aims: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) number of death cases is still increasing. One of the comorbidities associated with severe outcome and mortality of COVID-19 is dyslipidemia. Statin is one of the drugs which is most commonly used for the treatment of dyslipidemic patients. This study aims to analyze the association between statin use and in-hospital outcomes of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: We systematically searched the Google Scholar database using specific keywords related to our aims until August 1st, 2020. All articles published on COVID-19 and statin were retrieved. Statistical analysis was done using Review Manager 5.4 software.

Results: A total of 9 studies with a total of 3449 patients were included in our analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that statin use did not improve severity outcome [OR 1.64 (95% CI 0.51-5.23), p = 0.41, I² = 93%, random-effect modelling] nor mortality rate from COVID-19 infection [OR 0.78 (95% CI 0.50-1.21), p = 0.26, I² = 0%, fixed-effect modelling].

Conclusion: Statin use did not improve in-hospital outcomes of COVID-19 infections. Patients with dyslipidemia should continue taking statin drugs despite COVID-19 infection status, given its beneficial effects on cardiovascular outcomes.