First randomised trial backs safety of common heart drugs in COVID-19
patients
BRACE CORONA trial presented in a Hot Line Session today at ESC Congress
2020

Date:
September 1, 2020
Source:
European Society of Cardiology
Summary:
Heart patients hospitalized with COVID-19 can safely continue taking
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin
receptor blockers (ARBs), according to new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Heart patients hospitalised with COVID-19 can safely continue taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), according to the BRACE CORONA trial presented in a Hot
Line session today at ESC Congress 2020.1

==========================================================================
ACE inhibitors and ARBs are commonly taken by heart patients to reduce
blood pressure and to treat heart failure. There is conflicting
observational evidence about the potential clinical impact of ACE
inhibitors and ARBs on patients with COVID-19.2 Select preclinical investigations have raised concerns about their safety in patients with COVID-19. Preliminary data hypothesise that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors could benefit patients with COVID-19 by
decreasing acute lung damage and preventing angiotensin-II- mediated
pulmonary inflammation.

Given the frequent use of these agents worldwide, randomised clinical
trial evidence is urgently needed to guide the management of patients
with COVID-19.

Membrane-bound angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the functional receptor for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19).3 ACE2 expression may increase due to
upregulation in patients using ACE inhibitors and ARBs.4 The BRACE
CORONA trial was an academic-led, phase 4, randomised study testing
two strategies: temporarily stopping the ACE inhibitor/ARB for 30 days
versus continuing ACE inhibitors/ARBs in patients who were taking these medications chronically and were hospitalised with a confirmed diagnosis
of COVID-19. The primary outcome was the number of days alive and out
of hospital at 30 days.

Patients who were using more than three antihypertensive drugs,
or sacubitril/ valsartan, or who were haemodynamically unstable at
presentation were excluded from the study.



==========================================================================
The trial enrolled 659 patients from 29 sites in Brazil. All participants
were chronically using an ACE inhibitor or ARB and were hospitalised
with COVID-19.

Patients were randomly allocated to stopping the ACE inhibitor/ARB for
30 days or continuing the ACE inhibitor/ARB.

The average number of days alive and out of hospital was 21.9 days for
patients who stopped ACE inhibitors/ARBs and 22.9 days for patients who continued these medications. The average ratio of days alive and out
of hospital between the suspending and continuing groups was 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90 to 1.01, p=0.09). The average difference
between groups was -1.1 days (95% CI - 2.33 to 0.17).

The proportion of patients alive and out of hospital by the end of 30
days in the suspending ACE inhibitor/ARB group was 91.8% versus 95%
in the continuing group. A similar 30-day mortality rate was seen for
patients who continued and suspended the ACE inhibitor/ARB (2.8% versus
2.7%, respectively with a hazard ratio of 0.97).

"This is the first randomised data assessing the role of continuing
versus stopping ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients with COVID-19," said principal investigator Professor Renato Lopes of Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, US. "In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, suspending
ACE inhibitors and ARBs for 30 days did not impact the number of days
alive and out of hospital." He concluded: "Because these data indicate
that there is no clinical benefit from routinely interrupting these
medications in hospitalised patients with mild to moderate COVID-19,
they should generally be continued for those with an indication."
References and notes


==========================================================================
1. Abstract title: Continuing versus suspending ACE inhibitors and ARBs:
Impact of adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 --
The BRACE CORONA Trial.

2. Patel AB, Verma A. COVID-19 and Angiotensin-Converting
Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers: What Is the
Evidence? JAMA. 2020;323:1769-1770.

3. Gheblawi M, Wang K, Viveiros A, et al. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2: SARS-CoV-2 Receptor and Regulator of the Renin-Angiotensin System. Circ
Res.

2020;126:1456-1474.

4. Soler MJ, Barrios C, Oliva R, et al. Pharmacologic Modulation of ACE2 Expression. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2008;10:410-414.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by European_Society_of_Cardiology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200901112216.htm

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