Comparison of hypertension prevalence and the use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia

OBJECTIVE
To compare the prevalence of hypertension and pre-existing use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and non-COVID-19 viral pneumonias.

METHODS
Real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients were retrospectively analyzed. The presence of hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), and pre-existing use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were compared between the groups.

RESULTS
A total of 103 COVID-19 and 91 non-COVID-19 hospitalized viral pneumonia patients were enrolled. Hypertension and CAD were more common in patients with non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia than in patients with COVID-19 (39.6% vs 22.3%, respectively, p=0.012 and 24.2% vs 4.9%, respectively, p<0.001). In our study, 2.9% and 6.8% of patients with COVID-19 were on ACEIs and ARBs, respectively, whereas 13.2% and 19.8% of patients with non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia were on ACEIs and ARBs, respectively (p=0.009 and p=0.013). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p<0.001) was prominent in patients with non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia compared with patients with COVID-19.

CONCLUSION
Our study results indicate that hypertension and CAD are more common among patients with non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia than patients with COVID-19. The prevalence of ACEIs and ARBs use was not higher in patients with COVID-19. Our results support that the use of ACEIs and ARBs do not play a specific role in patients with COVID-19.