Current Issues of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Curr Issues Pharm Med Sci., Vol. 35, No. 3, 106-110

Hayder Assad

 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq

  10.2478/cipms-2022-0020

​© 2022 Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-No Derivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

Abstract

There are many treatment modalities for COVID-19 – with varied outcome. Therefore, authors designed this study to assess prescribing patterns and the clinical outcome for hospitalized patients with severe and critical COVID-19 so as to determine the most effective approach. 
Authors conducted a retrospective observational study on 346 adult patients with either severe or critical COVID-19, who were admitted to public hospitals in Al-Najaf city, Iraq from June to September 2020. Patients' information, medications and outcomes were collected from their medical records in the registered office of the hospital. 
A total of 346 patients were enrolled, with a majority of patients being adults above 35 years old and male (70.2%). Most patients (81%) received corticosteroid as dexamethasone, and about 45% of all patients were given convalescent plasma therapy, while a few patients were prescribed antiviral favipiravir (23%) and lopinavir/ritonavir (19%). As supportive care medications, anticoagulant such as enoxaparin was administered to most of the patients (93%) and more than half of all patients received the broad-spectrum antibiotic, meropenem. 
The majority of the patients recovered and were discharged alive (66%), however, the in-hospital mortality rate was 26%. Interestingly, patients treated with enoxaparin alone or in combination with hydroxychloroquine were associated with better outcome. 
The prescribing pattern of COVID-19 specific medications and supportive care is aligned with guideline recommendations and associated with a beneficial therapeutic outcome.

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Keywords

COVID-19, hospitalized patients, medications, mortality rate.