Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19
- PMID: 34351722
- PMCID: PMC8362592
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2103417
Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19
Abstract
Background: Thrombosis and inflammation may contribute to morbidity and mortality among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). We hypothesized that therapeutic-dose anticoagulation would improve outcomes in critically ill patients with Covid-19.
Methods: In an open-label, adaptive, multiplatform, randomized clinical trial, critically ill patients with severe Covid-19 were randomly assigned to a pragmatically defined regimen of either therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin or pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis in accordance with local usual care. The primary outcome was organ support-free days, evaluated on an ordinal scale that combined in-hospital death (assigned a value of -1) and the number of days free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support up to day 21 among patients who survived to hospital discharge.
Results: The trial was stopped when the prespecified criterion for futility was met for therapeutic-dose anticoagulation. Data on the primary outcome were available for 1098 patients (534 assigned to therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and 564 assigned to usual-care thromboprophylaxis). The median value for organ support-free days was 1 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) among the patients assigned to therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and was 4 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) among the patients assigned to usual-care thromboprophylaxis (adjusted proportional odds ratio, 0.83; 95% credible interval, 0.67 to 1.03; posterior probability of futility [defined as an odds ratio <1.2], 99.9%). The percentage of patients who survived to hospital discharge was similar in the two groups (62.7% and 64.5%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 0.84; 95% credible interval, 0.64 to 1.11). Major bleeding occurred in 3.8% of the patients assigned to therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and in 2.3% of those assigned to usual-care pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis.
Conclusions: In critically ill patients with Covid-19, an initial strategy of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin did not result in a greater probability of survival to hospital discharge or a greater number of days free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support than did usual-care pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis. (REMAP-CAP, ACTIV-4a, and ATTACC ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT02735707, NCT04505774, NCT04359277, and NCT04372589.).
Copyright © 2021 Massachusetts Medical Society.
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Comment in
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Pre-admission anticoagulant therapy and mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study.Thromb Res. 2021 Dec;208:35-38. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2021.10.006. Epub 2021 Oct 15. Thromb Res. 2021. PMID: 34688100 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Patients with Covid-19.N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 18;385(21):2013. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2115560. N Engl J Med. 2021. PMID: 34788515 No abstract available.
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Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Patients with Covid-19.N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 18;385(21):2013-2014. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2115560. N Engl J Med. 2021. PMID: 34788516 No abstract available.
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In critically ill patients with COVID-19, therapeutic anticoagulation did not increase organ support-free days.Ann Intern Med. 2021 Dec;174(12):JC135. doi: 10.7326/ACPJ202112210-135. Epub 2021 Dec 7. Ann Intern Med. 2021. PMID: 34871054
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