Yulia Khodneva, M.D., internal medicine specialist in the Division of Infectious Diseases, sought to conduct an observational study of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Khodneva’s goal was to ascertain whether their baseline use of RAAS inhibitor agents were associated with worse health outcomes of the COVID-19 infection such as a need for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, acute respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, and mortality.

Khodneva found that the use of RAAS inhibitors was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality from COVID-19 in a racially diverse patient sample. The use of RAAS inhibitors were not associated with ICU-level care or hospital readmissions in the cohort of patients with COVID-19, whereas patients with diabetes were at a higher risk for the same-hospital readmission. Among patients with hypertension, baseline RAAS inhibitor use was associated with a reduced risk of invasive mechanical ventilation. Her finding support continued RAAS inhibitor use during the pandemic.

The results of her study have been presented to Center for Clinical and Population Research and she was invited to present to the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education meeting, focusing on COVID-19-related research.