Effectiveness of famotidine on the risk of poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19: A nationwide cohort study in Korea

Abstract

Objective: Famotidine has been proposed as a promising candidate for the treatment of corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there is limited research on the association of famo-tidine with the poor prognosis of COVID-19.Methods: The Korean nationwide cohort included 6,556 patients who tested positive on RT-PCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The poor COVID-19-related outcomes were defined on the basis of having encountered the composite outcome of high oxy-gen therapy, intensive care unit admission, administration of mechanical ventilation, or death. In addition, we performed exposure-driven propensity score matching for no H2-blocker use versus current famotidine use, and other H2-blocker use versus current famotidine use.Results: 4,785 (73.0%) patients did not use a H2-blocker, 393 (6.0%) patients were currently used famotidine, and 1,292 (19.7%) patients currently used H2-blocker other than famotidine. In multivariable analysis after matching (no H2-blocker use versus current famotidine use), there was no significant association between current famotidine use and composite outcomes (adjusted odd ratios [aOR]: 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55-3.06). On the other hand, another matched cohort (other H2-blocker use versus current famotidine use), demonstrated a positive association between current famotidine use and composite outcomes (aOR: 3.56, 95% CI: 1.03-12.28)