Search

Background: Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir have emerged as promising options for COVID-19 treatment, but direct comparisons of their effectiveness have been limited. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these two oral antiviral drugs in non-hospitalised and hospitalised patients with COVID-19., Methods: In this target trial emulation study, we used data from a territory-wide electronic health records database on eligible patients aged ≥18 years infected with COVID-19 who were prescribed either molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir within five days of infection between 16 March 2022 and 31 December 2022 in the non-hospitalised and hospitalised settings in Hong Kong. A sequence trial approach and 1:1 propensity score matching was applied based on age, sex, number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received, Charlson comorbidity index, comorbidities, and drug use within past 90 days. Cox regression adjusted with patients' characteristics was used to compare the risk of effectiveness outcomes (all-cause mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission or ventilatory support and hospitalisation) between groups. Subgroup analyses included age (<70; ≥70 years); sex, Charlson comorbidity index (<4; ≥4), and number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received (0-1; ≥2 doses)., Findings: A total of 63,522 non-hospitalised (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 31,761; molnupiravir: 31,761) and 11,784 hospitalised (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 5892; molnupiravir: 5892) patients were included. In non-hospitalised setting, 336 events of all-cause mortality (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 71, 0.22%; molnupiravir: 265, 0.83%), 162 events of ICU admission or ventilatory support (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 71, 0.22%; molnupiravir: 91, 0.29%), and 4890 events of hospitalisation (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 1853, 5.83%; molnupiravir: 3037, 9.56%) were observed. Lower risks of all-cause mortality (absolute risk reduction (ARR) at 28 days: 0.61%, 95% CI: 0.50-0.72; HR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.33-0.56) and hospital admission (ARR at 28 days: 3.73%, 95% CI: 3.31-4.14; HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.67-0.76) were observed in nirmatrelvir-ritonavir users compared to molnupiravir users. In hospitalised setting, 509 events of all-cause mortality (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 176, 2.99%; molnupiravir: 333, 5.65%), and 50 events of ICU admission or ventilatory support (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir: 26, 0.44%; molnupiravir: 24, 0.41%) were observed. Risk of all-cause mortality was lower for nirmatrelvir-ritonavir users than for molnupiravir users (ARR at 28 days: 2.66%, 95% CI: 1.93-3.40; HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.49-0.71). In both settings, there was no difference in the risk of intensive care unit admission or ventilatory support between groups. The findings were consistent across all subgroup's analyses., Interpretation: Our analyses suggest that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was more effective than molnupiravir in reducing the risk of all-cause mortality in both non-hospitalised and hospitalised patients. When neither drug is contraindicated, nirmatrelvir-ritonavir may be considered the more effective option., Funding: HMRF Research on COVID-19, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government; Collaborative Research Fund, University Grants Committee, the HKSAR Government; and Research Grant from the Food and Health Bureau, the HKSAR Government; the Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D 2 4H) funded by the AIR@InnoHK administered by Innovation and Technology Commission., Competing Interests: EYFW has received research grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Narcotics Division, Security Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and National Natural Science Foundation of China, outside the submitted work. FTTL has been supported by the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship under the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and has received research grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, outside the submitted work. CSLC has received grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission, Pfizer, IQVIA, MSD, and Amgen; and personal fees from PrimeVigilance; outside the submitted work. XL has received research grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; research grants from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Early Career Scheme, and Research Impact Fund) of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR; research and educational grants from Janssen and Pfizer; internal funding from the University of Hong Kong; and consultancy fees from Pfizer, and Merck Sharp & Dohme; Dohme, unrelated to this work. CKHW has received research grants from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, the EuroQol Group Research Foundation, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim, unrelated to this work. IFNH received payments as member of Advisory Board for Pfizer, MSD, Moderna, GSK, and Gilead. ICKW reports research funding from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Bayer, GSK, Novartis, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, the National Institute for Health Research in England, the European Commission, and the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, consulting fees from IQVIA and World Health Organization, payment for expert testimony for Appeal Court of Hong Kong and is a non-executive director of Jacobson Medical in Hong Kong and Therakind in England, outside of the submitted work. ICKW reports role as member of Pharmacy and Poisons Board in Hong Kong, the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunization, and the Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines of the Hong Kong Government. EWYC reports grants from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Research Fund Secretariat of the Food and Health Bureau, National Natural Science Fund of China, Wellcome Trust, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Amgen, Takeda, RGA Reinsurance Company, AstraZeneca, Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Innovation and Technology Commission of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Novartis, National Health and Medical Research Council Australia; honorarium from Hospital Authority; outside the submitted work. EWYC reports unpaid role of president of International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), Hong Kong Regional Chapter. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: Case reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection could lead to immune dysregulation and trigger autoimmunity while COVID-19 vaccination is effective against severe COVID-19 outcomes. We aim to examine the association between COVID-19 and development of autoimmune diseases (ADs), and the potential protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination on such an association., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Hong Kong between 1 April 2020 and 15 November 2022. COVID-19 was confirmed by positive polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test. Cox proportional hazard regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting was applied to estimate the risk of incident ADs following COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccinated population was compared against COVID-19 unvaccinated population to examine the protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination on new ADs., Findings: The study included 1,028,721 COVID-19 and 3,168,467 non-COVID individuals. Compared with non-COVID controls, patients with COVID-19 presented an increased risk of developing pernicious anaemia [adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR): 1.72; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.12-2.64]; spondyloarthritis [aHR: 1.32 (95% CI: 1.03-1.69)]; rheumatoid arthritis [aHR: 1.29 (95% CI: 1.09-1.54)]; other autoimmune arthritis [aHR: 1.43 (95% CI: 1.33-1.54)]; psoriasis [aHR: 1.42 (95% CI: 1.13-1.78)]; pemphigoid [aHR: 2.39 (95% CI: 1.83-3.11)]; Graves' disease [aHR: 1.30 (95% CI: 1.10-1.54)]; anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome [aHR: 2.12 (95% CI: 1.47-3.05)]; immune mediated thrombocytopenia [aHR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.82-2.43)]; multiple sclerosis [aHR: 2.66 (95% CI: 1.17-6.05)]; vasculitis [aHR: 1.46 (95% CI: 1.04-2.04)]. Among COVID-19 patients, completion of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine shows a decreased risk of pemphigoid, Graves' disease, anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune arthritis., Interpretation: Our findings suggested that COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of developing various ADs and the risk could be attenuated by COVID-19 vaccination. Future studies investigating pathology and mechanisms would be valuable to interpreting our findings., Funding: Supported by RGC Collaborative Research Fund (C7154-20GF)., Competing Interests: XL received research grants from the Research Fund Secretariat of the Food and Health Bureau (HMRF, HKSAR), Research Grants Council Early Career Scheme (RGC/ECS, HKSAR), Research Grants Council Research Impact Fund (RGC/RIF, HKSAR), Janssen and Pfizer; internal funding from the 10.13039/501100003803University of Hong Kong; consultancy fee from Merck Sharp & Dohme and Pfizer, unrelated to this work. SCWC has received traveling support from Novartis and GSK. EYFW has received research grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, 10.13039/501100001809National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, outside the submitted work. CSLC has received grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong Research Grant Council, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission, Pfizer, IQVIA, and Amgen; personal fees from Primevigilance Ltd.; outside the submitted work. FTTL has been supported by the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship under the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and has received research grants from Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, outside the submitted work. CKHW reports receipt of research funding from the EuroQoL Group Research Foundation, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim; all of which are outside this work. EWC reports grants from the 10.13039/501100005407Food and Health Bureau (Hong Kong), the Research Grants Council (RGC, Hong Kong), 10.13039/501100001809National Natural Science Fund of China, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, RGA Reinsurance Company, Pfizer, Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau of HKSAR; Consulting fee from Pfizer, Novartis, and AstraZeneca; honorarium from Hospital Authority (Hong Kong), Pfizer, Novartis, and AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work. WKL received speaker fees from Ferring, Janssen, Takeda and Daiichi Sankyo. He has also participated on the Data Safety Advisory Board of AstraZeneca and Pfizer. All outside the submitted work. CSL reports payment of speaker fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, GSK, Janssen, Pfizer and Roche. He has also participated on the AstraZeneca Data Safety Advisory Board. All outside the submitted work. ICKW receives research funding outside the submitted work from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Bayer, GSK, Novartis, Takeda, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, National Institute for Health Research in England, 10.13039/501100000780European Commission, and the 10.13039/501100000925National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia; has received consultancy fee from the World Health Organization and IQVIA, and is a non-executive director of Jacobson Medical in Hong Kong. All other authors report no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Background: Evidence on post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) has shown inconsistent findings. This study aimed to generate coherent evidence on the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 infection using electronic healthcare records across two regions., Methods: In this retrospective, multi-database cohort study, patients with COVID-19 aged 18 or above between April 1st 2020 and May 31st 2022 from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HKHA) and March 16th 2020 and May 31st 2021 from the UK Biobank (UKB) databases and their matched controls were followed for up to 28 and 17 months, respectively. Covariates between patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 controls were adjusted using propensity score-based inverse probability treatment weighting. Cox proportional regression was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of clinical sequelae, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality 21 days after COVID-19 infection., Findings: A total of 535,186 and 16,400 patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 from HKHA and UKB, of whom 253,872 (47.4%) and 7613 (46.4%) were male, with a mean age (±SD) of 53.6 (17.8) years and 65.0 (8.5) years, respectively. Patients with COVID-19 incurred greater risk of heart failure (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.65, 2.01), atrial fibrillation (1.31; 1.16, 1.48), coronary artery disease (1.32; 1.07, 1.63), deep vein thrombosis (1.74; 1.27, 2.37), chronic pulmonary disease (1.61; 1.40, 1.85), acute respiratory distress syndrome (1.89; 1.04, 3.43), interstitial lung disease (3.91; 2.36, 6.50), seizure (2.32; 1.12, 4.79), anxiety disorder (1.65; 1.29, 2.09), post-traumatic stress disorder (1.52; 1.23, 1.87), end-stage renal disease (1.76; 1.31, 2.38), acute kidney injury (2.14; 1.69, 2.71), pancreatitis (1.42; 1.10, 1.83), cardiovascular (2.86; 1.25, 6.51) and all-cause mortality (4.16; 2.11, 8.21) mortality during their post-acute phase of infection., Interpretation: The consistent greater risk of PASC highlighted the need for sustained multi-disciplinary care for COVID-19 survivors., Funding: Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Collaborative Research Fund, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and AIR@InnoHK, administered by the Innovation and Technology Commission, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region., Competing Interests: CKHW reports receipt of research funding from the EuroQoL Group Research Foundation, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, and the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund; CSLC has received grants from the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong Research Grant Council, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission, Pfizer, IQVIA, MSD, and Amgen, personal fee from Primevigilance Ltd., outside the submitted work; FTTL has been supported by the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship under the Hong Kong Research Grants Council; XL has received research grants from the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, research and educational grants from Janssen and Pfizer, internal funding from University of Hong Kong, consultancy fee from Merck Sharp & Dohme, speaker fee from Pfizer, unrelated to this work; KKCM reports grants from the CW Maplethorpe Fellowship, National Institute of Health Research, UK, Hong Kong Research Grant Council and the European Commission Horizon 2020 Framework, personal fees from IQVIA, and grants from Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline, outside this work. EWYC has received grants from Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong SAR, Research Fund Secretariat of the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR, National Natural Science Fund of China, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Novartis, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Takeda, the RGA Reinsurance Company, Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR, and the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia; consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Novartis; and honorarium from the Hospital Authority of the Hong Kong SAR and serve as the president of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), Hong Kong Regional Chapter, outside the submitted work.; BMYC reports research funding outside the submitted work from Guangdong-Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme; SCWT reports research funding outside the submitted work from the Hong Kong RGC, and the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, and National Natural Science Fund of China; ICKW reports research funding from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Bayer, GSK, Novartis, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, the National Institute for Health Research in England, the European Commission, and the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, outside the submitted work; and is a non-executive director of Jacobson Medical in Hong Kong and a consultant to IQVIA and World Health Organization; and serve as a member of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Hong Kong SAR, Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunization and Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines of the Hong Kong Government; EYFW received research grants from the Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, outside the submitted work. All other authors report no disclosures relevant to the manuscript., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Background: This study aims to evaluate the association between thromboembolic events and hemorrhagic stroke following BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccination., Methods: Patients with incident thromboembolic events or hemorrhagic stroke within 28 days of covid-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 positive test during 23 February to 30 September 2021 were included. The incidence per 100,000 covid-19 vaccine doses administered and SARS-CoV-2 test positive cases were estimated. A modified self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis using the data from the Hong Kong territory-wide electronic health and vaccination records. Seasonal effect was adjusted by month., Findings: A total of 5,526,547 doses of BNT162b2 and 3,146,741 doses of CoronaVac were administered. A total of 334 and 402 thromboembolic events, and 57 and 49 hemorrhagic stroke cases occurred within 28 days after BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccination, respectively. The crude incidence of thromboembolic events and hemorrhagic stroke per 100,000 doses administered for both covid-19 vaccines were smaller than that per 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 test positive cases. The modified SCCS detected an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in BNT162b2 14-27 days after first dose with adjusted IRR of 2.53 (95% CI 1.48-4.34), and 0-13 days after second dose with adjusted IRR 2.69 (95% CI 1.54-4.69). No statistically significant risk was observed for thromboembolic events for both vaccines., Interpretation: We detected a possible safety signal for hemorrhagic stroke following BNT162b2 vaccination. The incidence of thromboembolic event or hemorrhagic stroke following vaccination is lower than that among SARS-CoV-2 test positive cases; therefore, vaccination against covid-19 remains an important public health intervention., Funding: This study was funded by a research grant from the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (reference COVID19F01)., Competing Interests: CSLC has received grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong Research Grant Council, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission, Pfizer, IQVIA, and Amgen; personal fees from Primevigilance Ltd.; outside the submitted work. EYFW has received research grants from the Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, outside the submitted work. KKL received grants from the Research Fund Secretariat of the Food and Health Bureau, Innovation and Technology Bureau, Research Grants Council, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai and Pfizer; and consultation fees from Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo and Sanofi, all outside the submitted work. FTTL has been supported by the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship under the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and has received research grants from Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, outside the submitted work. XL received research grants from Research Fund Secretariat of the Food and Health Bureau (HMRF, HKSAR), Research Grants Council Early Career Scheme (RGC/ECS, HKSAR), Janssen and Pfizer; internal funding from the University of Hong Kong; consultancy fee from Merck Sharp & Dohme, unrelated to this work. EWYC reports honorarium from Hospital Authority, grants from Research Grants Council (RGC, Hong Kong), grants from Research Fund Secretariat of the Food and Health Bureau, National Natural Science Fund of China, Wellcome Trust, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Amgen, Takeda, Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau of HKSAR, outside the submitted work. CLC has received grants from Hong Kong RGC, HMRF, the Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau of HKSAR, Amgen, outside the submitted work. CWS has received grants from the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF, HKSARS) outside the submitted work. ICKW reports research funding outside the submitted work from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Janssen, Bayer, GSK, Novartis, the Hong Kong RGC, and the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, National Institute for Health Research in England, European Commission, National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, and also received speaker fees from Janssen and Medice in the previous 3 years. He is also an independent non-executive director of Jacobson Medical in Hong Kong., (© 2022 The Authors.)