Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonists to prevent hyperinflammation and death from lower respiratory tract infection.
JSON
Koenecke A, Powell M, Xiong R, Shen Z, Fischer N, Huq S, Khalafallah AM, Trevisan M, Sparen P, Carrero JJ, Nishimura A, Caffo B, Stuart EA, Bai R, Staedtke V, Thomas DL, Papadopoulos N, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Zhou S, Bettegowda C, Konig MF, Mensh BD, Vogelstein JT, Athey S
Elife 10 (-) - [2021-06-11; online 2021-06-11]
In severe viral pneumonia, including Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the viral replication phase is often followed by hyperinflammation, which can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, multi-organ failure, and death. We previously demonstrated that alpha-1 adrenergic receptor (⍺ 1-AR) antagonists can prevent hyperinflammation and death in mice. Here, we conducted retrospective analyses in two cohorts of patients with acute respiratory distress (ARD, n = 18,547) and three cohorts with pneumonia (n = 400,907). Federated across two ARD cohorts, we find that patients exposed to ⍺1-AR antagonists, as compared to unexposed patients, had a 34% relative risk reduction for mechanical ventilation and death (OR = 0.70, p = 0.021). We replicated these methods on three pneumonia cohorts, all with similar effects on both outcomes. All results were robust to sensitivity analyses. These results highlight the urgent need for prospective trials testing whether prophylactic use of ⍺1-AR antagonists ameliorates lower respiratory tract infection-associated hyperinflammation and death, as observed in COVID-19.
PubMed 34114951
DOI 10.7554/eLife.61700
Crossref 10.7554/eLife.61700
pii: 61700