Use of Baricitinib in Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Objectives
To assess the role of baricitinib alone or in combination with other therapies as a treatment for patients with COVID-19.
Methods
Systematic literature search was conducted in the WHO COVID-19 Coronavirus disease database to find clinical studies on use of baricitinib for treatment of COVID-19 between December 1st 2019 and September 30th 2021. Two independent set of reviewers identified the eligible studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria, and relevant data was extracted and a qualitative synthesis of evidence performed. The risk of bias was evaluated with validated tools.
Results
A total of 267 articles were found to be eligible after primary screening of title and abstracts. Following assessment of full texts, 19 studies were finally included for this systematic review, out of which 16 are observational, and 3 are interventional studies. Collating the results from these observational and interventional studies, baricitinib used as add on to standard therapy, either alone or in combination with other drugs, was found to have favourable outcomes in moderate to severe hospitalised patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, ongoing trials indicate that drug is being extensively studied across the world for its safety and efficacy in COVID-19.
Conclusion
Baricitinib significantly improves clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and further evidence may establish the drug as a standard treatment among such patients.
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