Reduced Mortality with Ondansetron Use in SARS-CoV-2-Infected Inpatients

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a surge in clinical trials evaluating investigational and approved drugs. Retrospective analysis of drugs taken by COVID-19 inpatients provides key information on drugs associated with better or worse outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 10 741 patients testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection within 3 days of admission to compare risk of 30-day all-cause mortality in patients receiving ondansetron using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. All-cause mortality, length of hospital stay, adverse events such as ischemic cerebral infarction, and subsequent positive COVID-19 tests were measured. Results: Administration of≥8 mg of ondansetron within 48 hours of admission was correlated with an adjusted hazard ratio for 30-day all-cause mortality of 0.55 (95% CI, 0.42-0.70; P