Statin therapy and COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study in a province of Northern Italy

Greco, S.; Luciani, F.; Giorgini, E.; D'Amuri, A.; Lopreiato, M.; Fortunato, V.; Scopa, A.; Vestita, G.; Capatti, E.; Passaro, A.

Background and Aims: The outbreak by SARS-CoV-2 has soon stolen the spotlight worldwide: specific strategies able to adequately limit the inflammatory response to the virus are still needed even if many drugs were thought to be somehow effective. Statins, in particular, were chosen for their anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of our work was to evaluate the role of statin therapy in a cohort of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, trying to understand whether such drugs were able to improve the patients’ outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 501 adult inpatients admitted to the two COVID-hospitals of Ferrara’s territory, dividing them into two groups: ST=patients (on statin therapy on admission) and NST=patients (not on statin therapy). We searched for differences between groups in terms of anamnestic, clinical and laboratory data and then of disease outcomes. Results: We found significant differences between groups in terms of age, comorbidities, procalcitonin and CPK serum levels: ST patients were older, more comorbid, with lower procalcitonin and higher CPK serum levels. Male gender was the only independent predictor of needing intensification of care, while age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) were good predictors of in-hospital and 30-day mortality. Differences were also found in the survival functions between the groups. Conclusions: After a period of observation of 100 days, ST patients, despite their older age and their greater load of comorbidities, have similar survival functions to NST patients. Adjusted for age and CCI, the survival functions of the ST group are considerably more favorable than those of the second group.