The divergent protective effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Some studies have speculated that patients on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are more susceptible to adverse outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of administering ACEIs and ARBS to patients with COVID-19. METHODS Studies of COVID-19 were collected from the PubMed, Embase, medRxiv and BioRxiv databases. The pooled relative risk odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. Subgroup analyses were conducted by medication (ACEIs and ARBs) and geographical location (China and outside China). Inter-study heterogeneity was assessed using meta-regression. Begg's test, Egger's test and funnel plots were adopted to evaluate possible publication bias. RESULTS Thirty studies containing 10,434 adult patients were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled result indicated that the administration of ACEIs or ARBs reduced the risk of severe/death outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, a significant reduction in the risk of severe/death outcomes was observed to be associated with the administration of ACEIs or ARBs among COVID-19 patients in China, but this association was weaker for studies outside China. Furthermore, ACEI therapy was found to carry a significantly lower risk of an adverse clinical outcome. DISCUSSION Our systematic review and meta-analysis found that neither ACEIs nor ARBs worsen the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients. On the contrary, we found that patients treated with ACEIs or ARBs have a reduced risk of severe/death outcomes, especially in Asia. Furthermore, ACEIs may reduce the risk of severe/death outcomes. Therefore, treatment interruption of ACEI or ARB therapy during COVID-19 infection is not recommended.