Older Black veterans hospitalized with COVID-19 were less likely to receive drug treatments for their illness than older white veterans, according to a new study.
Investigators followed COVID-19 treatment and outcomes in more than 43,000 patients across 130 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with a 60-day follow-up period. Participants had a median age of 71 years.
Black patients were equally likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit as white patients. Yet although two-thirds of patients given supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation also received systemic steroids, Black veterans were less likely to receive those drugs, the authors reported. In addition, fewer were given remdesivir or treated with immunomodulatory drugs.
Notably, after adjusting for patient demographics, chronic health conditions, severity of illness and receipt of COVID-19–specific treatments, there was no significant different between Black and white patients for in-hospital mortality or 30-day readmission. Similarity in clinical outcomes may be influenced by the variations in COVID-19 drug treatment effects and by factors other than medical treatments, such as patient treatment preferences or treatment availability, discharge location and code status, the authors stated.
They further reported that differences in care “were partially explained by within- and between-hospital differences and underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to minimize racial variation in COVID-19 care.”
Identifying distinct patient populations who benefit from specific treatments may decrease the variation in care within and between hospitals, they concluded.
Full findings was published in JAMA Network Open.
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