WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Sitagliptin treatment added to standard care is associated with reduced mortality and improved clinical outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a study published online Sept. 29 in Diabetes Care.
Sebastiano Bruno Solerte, from the University of Pavia in Italy, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, case-control, retrospective, observational study involving patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized with COVID-19; patients had pneumonia and exhibited oxygen saturation <95 percent when breathing ambient air or when receiving oxygen support. Patients received sitagliptin added to standard of care (169 patients) or standard of care alone (169 patients).
The researchers found that compared with patients receiving standard of care alone, treatment with sitagliptin at the time of hospitalization was associated with reduced mortality (18 versus 37 percent; hazard ratio, 0.44), an improvement in clinical outcomes (60 versus 38 percent), and a greater number of hospital discharges (120 versus 89 discharged patients).
“Given the beneficial effects observed in lowering mortality rate and improving clinical outcomes, sitagliptin may also be considered for further testing in patients with COVID-19 and without type 2 diabetes,” the authors write.
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