Events The 3rd International Online Conference on Clinical Medicine

Event submissions

Published

This submission belongs to the session S7. Pulmonology of the event The 3rd International Online Conference on Clinical Medicine

Published date

12 Nov, 2025

Academic Editor

Sukhwinder Sohal

Citation

Bruna Noronha, Bruna Leticia De Oliveira, Victor Barros Maciel do Amaral, Antonio Rego Clemente De Jesus, Victor Alejandro Gomez Galeano, Ana Carolina Toguchi, Bruna Menezes, OBESITY AND ANTIVIRAL OUTCOMES: IS NIRMATRELVIR–RITONAVIR EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING HOSPITALIZATION IN OBESE PATIENTS WITH COVID-19?, in Proceedings of The 3rd International Online Conference on Clinical Medicine, 17 November–19 November 2025, MDPI: Basel, Switzerland

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OBESITY AND ANTIVIRAL OUTCOMES: IS NIRMATRELVIR–RITONAVIR EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING HOSPITALIZATION IN OBESE PATIENTS WITH COVID-19?

Bruna Noronha ¹

Bruna Leticia De Oliveira ²

Victor Barros Maciel do Amaral ³

Antonio Rego Clemente De Jesus ⁴

Victor Alejandro Gomez Galeano ⁵

Ana Carolina Toguchi ⁶

Bruna Menezes ⁷

1. Municipality of Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, Brazil

2. Catholic Salesian Auxilium University Centre, Olímpia, Brazil, Brazil

3. Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil, Brazil

4. University of Gurupi, Gurupi, Brazil, Brazil

5. Auxilio Mutuo San Pablo, Barranquilla, Brazil, Brazil

6. University Center São Camilo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil

7. University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil, Brazil

Abstract

OBESITY AND ANTIVIRAL OUTCOMES: IS NIRMATRELVIR–RITONAVIR EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING HOSPITALIZATION IN OBESE PATIENTS WITH COVID-19?

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis entitled "Obesity and Antiviral Outcomes: Is Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir Effective in Reducing Hospitalization in Obese Patients with COVID-19?"
We compared nirmatrelvir–ritonavir with placebo to assess its impact on hospitalization rates in obese patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Three studies met the inclusion criteria, all comparing nirmatrelvir–ritonavir in outpatients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 and obesity (body mass index >25 kg/m²) versus placebo.

The primary endpoint was the hospitalization rate. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Our analysis showed that nirmatrelvir–ritonavir did not significantly reduce hospitalization rates in obese patients with COVID-19 (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.57–1.25; p=0.39). Given the high global prevalence of obesity and its role as a risk factor for severe COVID-19, further research into tailored therapeutic strategies for this vulnerable population is needed. Limitations include reduced data availability for obese patients, inclusion of only three observational studies, and potential heterogeneity.
References

1. Aggarwal NR, Molina KC, Beaty LE, Bennett TD, Roe CC, Blake SN, et al. Real-world use of nirmatrelvir–ritonavir in outpatients with COVID-19 during the era of Omicron variants including BA.4 and BA.5 in Colorado, USA: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2023. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00180-7.

2. Scaglione F, Gentile I, Sberna G, Cicolini G, Castagna A. Impact of oral early antiviral therapies for mild–moderate COVID-19 in the outpatient setting during Omicron era: a pharmacoeconomic analysis. Clin Drug Investig. 2024;44(2):99-108. doi:10.1007/s40261-023-01287-4.

3. Wu MY, Pan YH, Hsu YL, Chen YH, Lin YY, Hsu CK. Association between nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir and the outcomes of non-hospitalized obese patients with COVID-19. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2023. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2023.06.004.

Keywords

Covid-19

nirmatrelvir-ritonavir

hospitalization

obesity

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