Remdesivir Effectiveness in Reducing the Risk of 30-day Readmission in Vulnerable Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Retrospective US Cohort Study Using Propensity Scores

Abstract

Background Reducing hospital readmission offer potential benefits for patients, providers, payers, and policymakers to improve quality of healthcare, reduce cost, and improve patient experience. We investigated effectiveness of remdesivir in reducing 30-day COVID-19-related readmission during the Omicron era, including older adults and those with underlying immunocompromising conditions. Methods This retrospective study utilized the US PINC AI Healthcare Database to identify adult patients discharged alive from an index COVID-19 hospitalization between December 01, 2021 and February 29, 2024. Odds of 30-day COVID-19-related readmission to the same hospital were compared between patients who received remdesivir vs those not, after balancing characteristics of two groups using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Analyses were stratified by maximum supplemental oxygen requirement during index hospitalization. Results Of 326,033 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during study period, 210,586 patients met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 109,551 (52%) patients were treated with remdesivir. After IPTW, lower odds of 30-day COVID-19-related readmission were observed in patients who received remdesivir vs those who did not, in the overall population (3.3% vs 4.2%, respectively; odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.78 [0.75–0.80]), elderly population (3.7% vs 4.7%, respectively; 0.78 [0.75–0.81]), and those with underlying immunocompromising conditions (5.3% vs 6.2%, respectively; 0.86 [0.80–0.92]). These results were consistent irrespective of supplemental oxygen requirements. Conclusions Treating patients hospitalized for COVID-19 with remdesivir was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of 30-day COVID-19-related readmission across all patients discharged alive from the initial COVID-19 hospitalization, including older adults and those with underlying immunocompromising conditions.