Covid, early use anakinra halves mortality: what it is

Covid-related deaths more than halved with anakinra, an anti-inflammatory already approved for some time in the EU and the United States for other indications. With an early and targeted administration of the drug, in association with the current therapeutic standard, there was a 55% reduction in mortality and an almost triple benefit in preventing progression to severe respiratory failure in Covid-19 patients admitted with poor prognosis, reducing the mean time to discharge from intensive care by 4 days. The treatment also increased the number of hospital discharges without evidence of infection, with the number of patients potentially fully recovering 2.8 times higher than those treated with standard therapy and placebo. These are some results at 28 days of Save-More, the first randomized and controlled study conducted on hospitalized Covid patients (about 600 between Italy and Greece), aimed at assessing patients at risk of progression to severe respiratory failure before hospitalization. intensive care and demonstrate the benefit of prompt intervention to prevent disease aggravation and death. The results – disclosed in ‘MedRxiv’ and proposed for publication – were presented by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi), which supported the study, and the Hellenic Institute for Sepsi Study which sponsored and conducted it. “One of the decisive aspects in the treatment of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 is the exact positioning of the few drugs we have available,” explained Massimo Fantoni, infectious disease specialist and head physician of the Agostino Gemelli Irccs University Hospital in Rome. “The results of the Save-more study are very significant and make an important contribution in this regard.” “Anakinra – said Emanuele Nicastri, infectious disease specialist and director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Spallanzani Institute in Rome – is the first drug to be used personalized on the patient’s response to the virus. For the first time, in fact, we have an extremely effective tool that allows a clear individualization of the therapy on a specific patient with those characteristics and a moderate or severe level of Covid-19 “. Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the Policlinico San Martino hospital in Genoa, stressed that “the use of anakinra in the patient setting of the Save-More Study can represent a significant advantage for the health system in the management of the pandemic”.