The use of Gilead's remdesivir may be associated with longer hospital stays for COVID-19 patients, even after they have recovered, so that they can finish the treatment course, a study published in JAMA Network Open July 15 suggests.
The study — conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of Washington in Seattle — included 2,344 patients in 123 Veterans Health Administration hospitals. All patients were hospitalized May 1-Oct. 8, 2020.
Patients who received remdesivir stayed in the hospital an average of six days versus three days for those who didn't receive the drug. There were no statistically significant improvements in survival for the patients receiving remdesivir.
The researchers said they believe many of the patients could have gone home sooner, but were kept in the hospital solely to complete the remdesivir treatment course.
"If this was the case, routine use of remdesivir for COVID-19 may have been associated with increased use of scarce hospital beds during the pandemic without being associated with improvements in patient survival," the researchers wrote.
The recommended treatment course for remdesivir is either five or 10 days, which the authors said is "somewhat arbitrary." It's only available as an intravenous drug for use in healthcare settings.
"In this cohort study of US veterans hospitalized with COVID-19, remdesivir treatment was not associated with improved survival but was associated with longer hospital stays. Routine use of remdesivir may be associated with increased use of hospital beds while not being associated with improvements in survival," the authors concluded.
Find the full study here.