Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in COVID-19 patients with haematological malignancies: a report from the EPICOVIDEHA registry

EPICOVIDEHA registry, Jon Salmanton-García*, Francesco Marchesi, Maria Gomes da Silva, Francesca Farina, Julio Dávila-Valls, Yavuz M. Bilgin, Andreas Glenthøj, Iker Falces-Romero, Jaap Van Doesum, Jorge Labrador, Caterina Buquicchio, Shaimaa El-Ashwah, Verena Petzer, Jens Van Praet, Martin Schönlein, Michelina Dargenio, Gustavo Adolfo Méndez, Stef Meers, Federico ItriAntonio Giordano, László Imre Pinczés, Ildefonso Espigado, Zlate Stojanoski, Alberto López-García, Lucia Prezioso, Ozren Jaksic, Antonio Vena, Nicola S. Fracchiolla, Tomás José González-López, Natasa Colović, Mario Delia, Barbora Weinbergerová, Monia Marchetti, Joyce Marques de Almeida, Olimpia Finizio, Caroline Besson, Monika M. Biernat, Toni Valković, Tobias Lahmer, Annarosa Cuccaro, Irati Ormazabal-Vélez, Josip Batinić, Noemí Fernández, Nick De Jonge, Carlo Tascini, Amalia N. Anastasopoulou, Rémy Duléry, Maria Ilaria Del Principe, Gaëtan Plantefeve, Emanuele Ammatuna

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    22 Citations (Scopus)
    86 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Background: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment decreases the hospitalisation rate in immunocompetent patients with COVID-19, but data on efficacy in patients with haematological malignancy are scarce. Here, we describe the outcome of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment in a large cohort of the latter patients. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study from the multicentre EPICOVIDEHA registry (NCT04733729) on patients with haematological malignancy, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and September 2022. Patients receiving nirmatrelvir/ritonavir were compared to those who did not. A logistic regression was run to determine factors associated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir administration in our sample. Mortality between treatment groups was assessed with Kaplan–Meier survival plots after matching all the patients with a propensity score. Additionally, a Cox regression was modelled to detect factors associated with mortality in patients receiving nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Findings: A total of 1859 patients were analysed, 117 (6%) were treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, 1742 (94%) were treated otherwise. Of 117 patients receiving nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, 80% had received ≥1 anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose before COVID-19 onset, 13% of which received a 2nd vaccine booster. 5% were admitted to ICU. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment was associated with the presence of extrapulmonary symptoms at COVID-19 onset, for example anosmia, fever, rhinitis, or sinusitis (aOR 2.509, 95%CI 1.448–4.347) and 2nd vaccine booster (aOR 3.624, 95%CI 1.619–8.109). Chronic pulmonary disease (aOR 0.261, 95%CI 0.093–0.732) and obesity (aOR 0.105, 95%CI 0.014–0.776) were not associated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use. After propensity score matching, day-30 mortality rate in patients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was 2%, significantly lower than in patients with SARS-CoV-2 directed treatment other than nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (11%, p = 0.036). No factor was observed explaining the mortality difference in patients after nirmatrelvir/ritonavir administration. Interpretation: Haematological malignancy patients were more likely to receive nirmatrelvir/ritonavir when reporting extrapulmonary symptoms or 2nd vaccine booster at COVID-19 onset, as opposed to chronic pulmonary disease and obesity. The mortality rate in patients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was lower than in patients with targeted drugs other than nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. Funding: EPICOVIDEHA has received funds from Optics COMMIT (COVID-19 Unmet Medical Needs and Associated Research Extension) COVID-19 RFP program by GILEAD Science, United States (Project 2020-8223).

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number101939
    Number of pages19
    JournalEClinicalMedicine
    Volume58
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Apr-2023

    Keywords

    • COVID-19
    • Haematology
    • Malignancy
    • Nirmatrelvir
    • SARS-CoV-2

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in COVID-19 patients with haematological malignancies: a report from the EPICOVIDEHA registry'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this