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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Feb;2(2):EVIDoa2200293.
doi: 10.1056/EVIDoa2200293. Epub 2022 Dec 10.

Anticoagulation Strategies in Non-Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19

Zoe K McQuilten  1   2 Balasubramanian Venkatesh  3   4   5   6   7 Vivekanand Jha  5   8 Jason Roberts  3   9 Susan C Morpeth  10 James A Totterdell  11 Grace M McPhee  12 John Abraham  13 Niraj Bam  14 Methma Bandara  12 Ashpak K Bangi  15 Lauren A Barina  12 Bhupendra K Basnet  16 Hasan Bhally  17 Khema R Bhusal  18 Umesh Bogati  16 Asha C Bowen  19   20 Andrew J Burke  3   21 Devasahayam J Christopher  22 Sanjeev D Chunilal  1   23 Belinda Cochrane  24   25 Jennifer L Curnow  11   26 Santa Kumar Das  18 Ashesh Dhungana  16 Gian Luca Di Tanna  4 Ravindra Dotel  27 Hyjel DSouza  5 Jack Dummer  28   29 Sourabh Dutta  30 Hong Foo  31 Timothy L Gilbey  32 Michelle L Giles  1   12 Kasiram Goli  33 Adrienne Gordon  11   34 Pradip Gyanwali  14   18 Dipak Haksar  35 Bernard J Hudson  36 Manoj K Jani  37 Purnima R Jevaji  5 Sachin Jhawar  37 Aikaj Jindal  38 M Joseph John  13 Mary John  13 Flavita B John  22 Oommen John  5   39 Mark Jones  11 Rajesh D Joshi  5 Prashanthi Kamath  5 Gagandeep Kang  22 Achyut R Karki  16 Abhishek M Karmalkar  40 Baldeep Kaur  4 Kalyan Chakravarthy Koganti  41 Jency M Koshy  42 Mathew S Krishnamurthy  42 Jillian S Lau  43   44 Sharon R Lewin  2   12 Lyn-Li Lim  1 Ian C Marschner  11 Julie A Marsh  19 Michael J Maze  28 James M McGree  45 James H McMahon  44 Robert L Medcalf  1 Eileen G Merriman  17 Amol P Misal  46 Jocelyn M Mora  12 Vijaybabu K Mudaliar  5 Vi Nguyen  12 Matthew V O'Sullivan  11   26   31 Suman Pant  18 Pankaj Pant  14 David L Paterson  47 David J Price  12   48 Megan A Rees  49 James O Robinson  50   51 Benjamin A Rogers  1   2 Sandhya Samuel  13 Joe Sasadeusz  12   52 Deepak Sharma  53 Prabhat K Sharma  53 Roshan Shrestha  18 Sailesh K Shrestha  16 Prajowl Shrestha  16 Urvi Shukla  54 Omar Shum  55   56 Christine Sommerville  12 Tim Spelman  57   58 Richard P Sullivan  59   60 Umashankar Thatavarthi  41 Huyen A Tran  1   44 Nanette Trask  61 Clare L Whitehead  62 Robert K Mahar  48   63 Naomi E Hammond  4   36 James D McFadyen  44   64 Thomas L Snelling  11   19 Joshua S Davis  60   65 Justin T Denholm  12   52 Steven Y C Tong  12   52
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Anticoagulation Strategies in Non-Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19

Zoe K McQuilten et al. NEJM Evid. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Optimal thromboprophylaxis for hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is uncertain. METHODS: In an open-label, adaptive platform trial, we randomly assigned hospitalized adults with Covid-19 to low-dose low-molecular-weight heparin thromboprophylaxis or intermediate-dose or low-dose plus aspirin. In response to external evidence, the aspirin intervention was discontinued and a therapeutic-dose arm added. The primary end point was death or the requirement for new organ support by day 28, analyzed with a Bayesian logistic model. Enrolment was closed as a result of operational constraints. RESULTS: Between February 2021 and March 2022, 1574 patients were randomly assigned. Among 1526 participants included in the analysis (India, n=1273; Australia and New Zealand, n=138; and Nepal, n=115), the primary outcome occurred in 35 (5.9%) of 596 in low-dose, 25 (4.2%) of 601 in intermediate-dose, 20 (7.2%) of 279 in low-dose plus aspirin, and 7 (14%) of 50 in therapeutic-dose anticoagulation. Compared with low-dose thromboprophylaxis, the median adjusted odds ratio for the primary outcome for intermediate-dose was 0.74 (95% credible interval [CrI], 0.43 to 1.27; posterior probability of effectiveness [adjusted odds ratio<1; Pr], 86%), for low-dose plus aspirin 0.88 (95% CrI, 0.47 to 1.64; Pr, 65%), and for therapeutic-dose anticoagulation 2.22 (95% CrI, 0.77 to 6.20; Pr, 7%). Overall thrombotic and bleeding rates were 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively. There were 10 serious adverse reactions related to anticoagulation strategy, of which nine were grade 1 or 2 across study interventions and one grade 4 episode of retroperitoneal hematoma in a patient receiving intermediate-dose anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized non–critically ill adults with Covid-19, compared with low-dose, there was an 86% posterior probability that intermediate-dose, 65% posterior probability that low-dose plus aspirin, and a 7% posterior probability that therapeutic-dose anticoagulation reduced the odds of death or requirement for organ support. No treatment strategy met prespecified stopping criteria before trial closure, precluding definitive conclusions. (Funded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council or Medical Research Future Fund Investigator and Practitioner Grants and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04483960.)

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