COVID-19 Pandemic Waves and 2024–2025 Winter Season in Relation to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Angiotensin Receptor Blockers and Amantadine
<b>Background:</b> Early pandemic reports suggested improved outcomes in hypertensive COVID-19 patients treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or amantadine. This study evaluates their impact on disease progression. <b>Methods:</b> We analyzed 55,936 infected patients (March 2020-January 2025) and 2024 hospital admissions within a free-access Barcelona metropolitan health consortium (<i>n</i> = 192,651 as of March 2025). Hospitalizations, stratified by polypharmacy level (nT), were compared via Chi-square tests. ICU admissions and length of stay in hospitalized patients were assessed during the first month of key waves: initial A2a + B3a + B9 (<i>n</i> = 184, March 2020), Delta (<i>n</i> = 158, July 2021), Omicron21K (<i>n</i> = 142, January 2022), and Omicron 24F (<i>n</i> = 8, January 2025). <b>Results:</b> Non-survivors were predominantly aged >60 years (96.3%) in the first wave and >70 years (100%) in Delta/Omicron waves. Post-vaccination, mortality decreased in high-comorbidity groups, though hospitalizations/ICU admissions in younger patients surpassed first-wave levels during Delta. Vaccinated ACEI/ARB-treated patients showed reduced hospitalizations across all polypharmacy groups: OR (noACEI/ACEI) = 1.21 (≥2 nT) to 4.26 (1 nT, <i>p</i> = 0.014); OR (noARB/ARB) = 1.24 (≥8 nT) to 1.74 (2-7 nT, <i>p</i> = 0.01). No hospitalizations occurred in amantadine-treated patients aged <70. Conclusions: These findings suggest a potential protective effect of ACEI, ARBs, and amantadine against severe COVID-19 and support the safety and continuity of these treatments. Multicentric studies incorporating post-COVID syndrome data are needed to validate these observations if hospitalizations persist.
Authors
- Helena Losa-Puig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9934-4759)
- Celia Lozano-Paz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2301-2509)
- Maite Franco-Romero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-3803)
- Roger Valls-Foix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1016-4039)
- Marta Juanes-González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8682-6000)
- Albert Cortés Borra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4809-8364)
- Anna Puigdellívol‐Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7239-2953)
- Ana Calderón-Valdiviezo
- Luís Pueyo-Antón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1070-1051)
- Marc León-Pérez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5312-8887)
- Marta González-Salvador (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9012-2899)
Institutions
- University Hospital Complex Of Vigo (ES)
- Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa (ES)
- Institut Català de la Salut (ES)
- Parque Sanitario Pere Virgili (ES)
- Esteve (Spain) (ES)
- Deleted Institution
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Healthcare
- Published
- 2025-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13111270
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.19