Effect of Statin Treatment on COVID-19 Patients’ Outcomes: A Randomized Double-blind Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Statins may be protective against viral infection and have been suggested for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on COVID-19 patients. Methods: Our study is a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial that constitutes a population of COVID-19 patients admitted to Bu-Ali Sina Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, from May to August 2021. For the intervention and control groups, in addition to the national standard treatment, atorvastatin 40 mg tablet and placebo were daily administered for 7 days, respectively. A questionnaire including demographic characteristics, history of underlying diseases, vital signs, laboratory and imaging results, and outcome (alive, died) was completed on the first, third, and fifth days of hospitalization. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 25. Findings: One hundred five patients with COVID-19 (62 females and 43 males, mean age 69 years) were studied. On days 3 and 5 after the intervention, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of vital signs, laboratory findings, hospitalization time, and need for intensive care unit hospitalization. However, 5.7% of patients in the atorvastatin group and 0% of patients in the control group died (P=0.243). Among the studied variables, C-reactive protein (P=0.227 vs P=0.002), blood urea nitrogen (P=0.055 vs P<0.001), and creatinine (P=0.598 vs P=0.013) decreased significantly in the statin group (no control group during days 0-5). Conclusion: There was no evidence about the harm and benefits of statin treatment during COVID-19 hospitalization.