Impact of Famotidine Use on Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in Taiwan: A Retrospective Study

Hsiang-Ling Lin, Yu-Ning Winter, Lee, Fang-Ju Sun, Ming-Wei Cheng, S U M M A R Y

doi:10.6890/IJGE.202307_17(3).0008

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between famotidine treatment and severity, as well as mortality, for patients with COVID-19. In addition, to investigate whether this association was changed in cases of concomitant treatment with corticosteroids, remdesivir, clarithromycin, low molecular weight heparin, or statin. Material and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted by analyzing electronic medical records of 171 hospitalized patients into the Infectious Disease Ward of a 2068-bed tertiary care medical center, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between May 01, 2021 and August 31, 2021. Patients were classified as receiving famotidine if they were treated with oral drug, at any dose, within ± 7 days of COVID-19 screening and/or hospital admission. Famotidine use was extracted directly from the electronic medical record. Results: Current study failed to identify famotidine as a protective factor associated with a significant reduction in the risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 1.573, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.464-5.325, p = 0.467) or a significant reduction in the risk of ICU admission (odds ratio 0.547, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.286-1.045, p = 0.068). However, non-significant trend towards a lower rate of ICU admission in association with famotidine prescription was observed. Conclusions: The results of this study reflect the real-world use of famotidine does not reduce the risk of in-hospital-mortality or ICU admission of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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DOI record: { "DOI": "10.6890/IJGE.202307_17(3).0008", "ISSN": "1873-9598", "URL": "", "abstract": "Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between famotidine treatment and severity, as well as mortality, for patients with COVID-19. In addition, to investigate whether this association was changed in cases of concomitant treatment with corticosteroids, remdesivir, clarithromycin, low molecular weight heparin, or statin. Material and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted by analyzing electronic medical records of 171 hospitalized patients into the Infectious Disease Ward of a 2068-bed tertiary care medical center, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between May 01, 2021 and August 31, 2021. Patients were classified as receiving famotidine if they were treated with oral drug, at any dose, within ± 7 days of COVID-19 screening and/or hospital admission. Famotidine use was extracted directly from the electronic medical record. Results: Current study failed to identify famotidine as a protective factor associated with a significant reduction in the risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 1.573, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.464-5.325, p = 0.467) or a significant reduction in the risk of ICU admission (odds ratio 0.547, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.286-1.045, p = 0.068). However, non-significant trend towards a lower rate of ICU admission in association with famotidine prescription was observed. Conclusions: The results of this study reflect the real-world use of famotidine does not reduce the risk of in-hospital-mortality or ICU admission of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.", "author": [ { "literal": "Hsiang-Ling Lin" }, { "literal": "Winter Yu-Ning Lee" }, { "literal": "Fang-Ju Sun" }, { "literal": "Ming-Wei Cheng" } ], "container-title": "International Journal of Gerontology", "issue": "3", "issued": { "date-parts": [ [ "2023", "7", "1" ] ] }, "language": "en", "page-first": "183", "title": "Impact of Famotidine Use on Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in Taiwan: A Retrospective Study", "type": "article-journal", "volume": "17" }