CAPE TOWN - A recently published study in the journal
Anesthesia and Analgesia shares the discoveries of researchers who found low-doses of aspirin could potentially benefit Covid-19 patients suffering from severe symptoms.
The study was led by Jonathan H. Chow, MD, an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, looked at 412 patients who were hospitalised due to Covid-19 aiming to evaluate whether the use of aspirin could be associated with reduced risk of the need of mechanical ventilation, intensive care or fatal outcomes.
314 (76.3 percent) of the patients haven't received aspirin while 98 (23.7 percent) of the patients received aspirin within 24 hours of admission or within 7 days prior to admission.
The researchers found that those given aspirin required less mechanical ventilation with only 35.7 percent requiring such support while 48.4 percent of the patients without aspirin did.
ICU admissions showed fairly similar results with 38.8 percent aspirin users and 51.0 percent of non-aspirin users admitted to intensive care units with aspirin users found to be 47 percent less likely to suffer from fatal outcomes in the hospitals.
"Aspirin use may be associated with improved outcomes in hospitalized Covid-19 patients. However, a sufficiently powered randomised controlled trial is needed to assess whether a causal relationship exists between aspirin use and reduced lung injury and mortality in Covid-19 patients," said the study leader, Chow, “If our finding is confirmed, it would make aspirin the first widely available, over-the-counter medication to reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients.”
Although aspirin reduces inflammation and blood clotting, which may be beneficial to those fighting Covid-19, as its an easily accessible medication over-use may provide complications such as internal bleeding, organ damage or stomach problems, so speaking to your doctor first is strongly advised.
“We believe that the blood thinning effects of aspirin provides benefits for COVID-19 patients by preventing microclot formation,” said study co-author Michael A. Mazzeffi, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at UMSOM. “Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 may want to consider taking a daily aspirin as long as they check with their doctor first.”
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