Nutrients (Jun 2024)

Calcifediol or Corticosteroids in the Treatment of COVID-19: An Observational Study

  • Marta Entrenas-Castillo,
  • Luis Manuel Entrenas-Costa,
  • María P. Pata,
  • Bernabe Jurado-Gamez,
  • Cristina Muñoz-Corroto,
  • Cristina Gomez-Rebollo,
  • Estefania Mira-Padilla,
  • Roger Bouillon,
  • Jose Manuel Quesada-Gómez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16121910
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 12
p. 1910

Abstract

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Medical treatment of coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19) is a therapeutic challenge. The available data strongly suggest that calcifediol treatment may reduce the severity of COVID-19, and corticosteroids are the treatment of choice worldwide for severe COVID-19. Both have a very similar action profile, and their combined use in patients may modify the contribution of each administered compound. Objective: To evaluate how treatment with calcifediol and/or corticosteroids in medical practice modified the need for ICU admission, death, or poor prognosis of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first outbreaks. Design, patients and setting: A retrospective observational cohort study of patients admitted for COVID-19 to the Pneumology Unit of the Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía (Córdoba, Spain). Interventions: Patients were treated with calcifediol or/and corticosteroids with the best available therapy and standard care, according to clinical practice guidelines. Measurements: Admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) or death during hospitalization and poor prognosis. Results: Seven hundred and twenty-eight patients were included. According to the treatment received, they were included in four groups: calcifediol (n = 68), glucocorticoids (n = 112), both (n = 510), or neither (n = 38). Of the 578 patients treated with calcifediol, 88 were admitted to the ICU (15%), while of the 150 not treated with calcifediol, 39 required ICU admission (26%) (p p = 0.022). Of the 595 patients who had a good prognosis, 568 (82.01%) had received treatment with calcifediol versus the 133 patients with a poor prognosis, of whom 90 (67.66%) had received calcifediol (p < 0.001). This difference was not found for corticosteroids. Interpretation: The treatment of choice for hospitalized patients with moderate or mild COVID-19 could be calcifediol, not administering corticosteroids, until the natural history of the disease reaches a stage of hyperinflammation.

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