Di Castelnuovo A, Costanzo S, Antinori A, Berselli N, Blandi L, Bonaccio M, Cauda R, Guaraldi G, Menicanti L, Mennuni M, Parruti G, Patti G, Santilli F, Signorelli C, Vergori A, Abete P, Ageno W, Agodi A, Agostoni P, Aiello L, Al Moghazi S, Arboretti R, Astuto M, Aucella F, Barbieri G, Bartoloni A, Bonfanti P, Cacciatore F, Caiano L, Carrozzi L, Cascio A, Ciccullo A, Cingolani A, Cipollone F, Colomba C, Colombo C, Crosta F, Danzi GB, D’Ardes D, de Gaetano Donati K, Di Gennaro F, Di Tano G, D’Offizi G, Fantoni M, Fusco FM, Gentile I, Gianfagna F, Grandone E, Graziani E, Grisafi L, Guarnieri G, Larizza G, Leone A, Maccagni G, Madaro F, Maitan S, Mancarella S, Mapelli M, Maragna R, Marcucci R, Maresca G, Marongiu S, Marotta C, Marra L, Mastroianni F, Mazzitelli M, Mengozzi A, Menichetti F, Meschiari M, Milic J, Minutolo F, Molena B, Montineri A, Mussini C, Musso M, Niola D, Odone A, Olivieri M, Palimodde A, Parisi R, Pasi E, Pesavento R, Petri F, Pinchera B, Poletti V, Ravaglia C, Rognoni A, Rossato M, Rossi M, Sangiovanni V, Sanrocco C, Scorzolini L, Sgariglia R, Simeone PG, Taddei E, Torti C, Vettor R, Vianello A, Vinceti M, Virano A, Vocciante L, De Caterina R, Iacoviello L
Thromb Haemost. 2021 Jan 7. doi: 10.1055/a-1347-6070
Abstract
Introduction: A hypercoagulable condition was described in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and proposed as a possible pathogenic mechanism contributing to disease progression and lethality.
Aim: We evaluated if in-hospital administration of heparin improved survival in a large cohort of Italian COVID-19 patients.
Methods: In a retrospective observational study, 2,574 unselected patients hospitalized in 30 clinical centers in Italy from February 19, 2020 to June 5, 2020 with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection were analyzed. The primary endpoint in a time-to event analysis was in-hospital death, comparing patients who received heparin (low-molecular-weight heparin [LMWH] or unfractionated heparin [UFH]) with patients who did not. We used multivariable Cox proportional-hazards regression models with inverse probability for treatment weighting by propensity scores.
Results: Out of 2,574 COVID-19 patients, 70.1% received heparin. LMWH was largely the most used formulation (99.5%). Death rates for patients receiving heparin or not were 7.4 and 14.0 per 1,000 person-days, respectively. After adjustment for propensity scores, we found a 40% lower risk of death in patients receiving heparin (hazard ratio = 0.60; 95% confidence interval: 0.49-0.74; E-value = 2.04). This association was particularly evident in patients with a higher severity of disease or strong coagulation activation.
Conclusion: In-hospital heparin treatment was associated with a lower mortality, particularly in severely ill COVID-19 patients and in those with strong coagulation activation. The results from randomized clinical trials are eagerly awaited to provide clear-cut recommendations.