Background Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 facilitates the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 into the human body. We investigated the association of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitor use with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes in hypertensive patients.
Methods We identified hypertensive patients with confirmed COVID-19 from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from inception to May 15, 2020. The primary outcome was the composite of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and death from COVID-19. The individual components were evaluated as secondary outcomes.
Results Of 1,374 hypertensive patients with COVID-19, 1,076 (78.3%) and 298 (21.7%) were users and never-users of RAAS inhibitors, respectively. The RAAS inhibitor users were not associated with the risk of the primary outcome (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 1.10). The risk of ICU admission was significantly lower in the users than the never-users (aOR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.84). The RAAS inhibitors were beneficial only in ICU admissions that did not require IMV (aOR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.58). The risk of death from COVID-19 was comparable between the groups (aOR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.85). We could not evaluate the risks of CRRT and ECMO owing to the small number of events.
Conclusion RAAS inhibitor use was not associated with the composite of severe outcomes in the hypertensive patients with COVID-19 but significantly lowered the risk of ICU admission, particularly in patients who did not require IMV.
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BACKGROUND The renin-angiotensin system(RAS) plays an important role in the physiologic regulation of the renal microcirculation and may contribute to the imbalance of resistances present at the preglomerular and postglomerular sites whirh are responsible for glomerular capillary hypertension, a major injurious factor in the diabetic kidney. Blockade of angiotensin(Ang II) with angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitor or Ang II receptor antagonists reduces glomerular injury. However, the relationship between diabetes and the RAS is unclear. METHOD: To investigate changes of gene expression of the renal renin-angiotensin system in diabetic nephropathy, mRNA levels of the RAS components were determined with the methods of Northern blot and RT-PCR in streptozotocin-induced diabetic(STZ-D) rats. Sprague-Dawley rats(240~260 g) were made diabetic by double i.p. injections of 45 mg/kg STZ. Result: Plasma renin concentration increased significantly at the onset of diabetes, and then suppressed at 4 and 8 week sof diabetes. Changes in renal renin content and mRNA levels were in parallel with plasma renin concentration during 8 weeks of diabetes. Renal angiotensinogen mRNA levels of the STZ-D rats decreased initially and then returned to the baseline with the progression of diabetes. Gene expression of angiotensin II-AT1 receptor subtypes, AT1a and AT1b, was not significantly changed during 8 wk of diabetes. Plasma and renal ACE activity increased significantly at 4 and 8 wk of diabetes. CONCLUSION: Results of the present study show a marked decrease in renal renin mRNA levels and renin concentration, but significant increase in ACE activity in chronic diabetic rats. When considering renoprotective effect of ACE inhibitors and AT receptor antagonists, the present result may suggest an increased intrarenal generation of Ang II and its pathophysiologic role in diabetic nephropathy. However, further studies are required to clarify meanings of the differential activation of the renal renin-angiotensin system components in diabetic rats.