Why Is There a 5-day Vs 10-Day Difference in Remdesivir Treatment?

Does remdesivir (Veklury) provide a benefit on clinical status for patients hospitalized with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia? That question was the focus of a study published by JAMA on August 21, 2020. This study found 'patients randomized to a 5-day course of remdesivir had a statistically significant difference in clinical status compared with standard care, but the difference was of uncertain clinical importance.'

These researchers identified several factors that may account for the lack of difference in clinical status observed in the 10-day remdesivir group, although the median length of treatment was 6 days in this group.

The majority of these patients were enrolled within 2-days of hospitalization, yet 15% received supplemental oxygen on day 1. 'This is a relevant observation for future trials as the ordinal clinical status scales used to date do not take into account oxygen saturation values or oxygen supplies and patterns of use in different health systems,' concluded these researchers.