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Current Psychopharmacology

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ISSN (Print): 2211-5560
ISSN (Online): 2211-5579

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Research Article

The Impact of SSRI Use on the Clinical Outcome and Prognosis of COVID-19 Patients: A Single-Center Prospective Study

Author(s): Mitra Safa, Seyed Ali Ziaee, Afshin Moniri, Fatemeh Ghassem Boroujerdi*, Farzaneh Haji Zadeh, Amirali Soheili, Siamak Afaghi, Fatemeh Sadat Rahimi and Bamdad Mirab Zadeh Ardekani

Volume 11, Issue 2, 2022

Published on: 07 November, 2022

Article ID: e271022210420 Pages: 7

DOI: 10.2174/2211556011666221027124605

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have found a link between the usage of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and a lower mortality rate in COVID-19 cases.

Objective: The goal of the current research was to evaluate the effectiveness of SSRI drugs in improving COVID-19 patients.

Methods: This prospective case-control study compared SSRI-treated patients with matched control patients not treated with SSRIs at the Masih Daneshvari Hospital on a population of 350 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 15th, 2021, to March 16th, 2022.

Results: ICU admission rates were significantly more in the control group than in the case group (44.8% vs. 25.9%; p-value=0.0002; Odds Ratio (OR)= 2.32). Intubation was reported for more cases in the control group than the case group (26.7% vs. 11.4%; p-value=0.0002; OR=2.84). The mortality rate was found to be significantly more in the control group than in the case group (23.0% vs. 10.8%; p-value=0.0002; OR=2.46). Furthermore, the subgroup analyses on fluvoxamine and sertraline showed that hospitalization period, ICU admission rates, and intubation were all reported to be significantly lower in each case subgroup than the control group.

Conclusion: Our assessments underlined the potential efficacy of SSRIs in improving COVID-19 patients’ prognosis since the use of SSRIs was shown to be associated with shorter hospital stay and ICU stay, lower ICU admission rates and intubation rates, and ultimately decreased mortality rates.

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