Association of pre-admission statin use with reduced in-hospital mortality in COVID-19.

ABSTRACT Background Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection is associated with an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response. Statins, given their anti-inflammatory properties, may reduce the associated morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the association between statin use prior to hospitalization and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods In this retrospective study, clinical data were collected from the electronic medical records of patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed COVID-19 infection from March 1, 2020 to April 24, 2020. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to study the association of pre-admission statin use with in-hospital mortality. Results Of 255 patients, 116 (45.5%) patients were on statins prior to admission and 139 (54.5%) were not. The statin group had a higher proportion of end stage renal disease (ESRD) (13.8% vs. 2.9%, p=0.001), diabetes mellitus (63.8% vs. 35.2%, p Conclusions Our study suggests that statins are associated with reduced in-hospital mortality among patients with COVID-19, regardless of CAD status. More comprehensive epidemiological and molecular studies are needed to establish the role of statins in COVID-19.