The Use of IV Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (Aviptadil) in Patients With Critical COVID-19 Respiratory Failure: Results of a 60-Day Randomized Controlled Trial
Youssef JG, Lavin P, Schoenfeld DA, et al. (2022). Critical Care Medicine.
Summary
A multicentre placebo-controlled trial randomising 196 patients with COVID-19 respiratory failure 2:1 to three days of intravenous aviptadil or placebo. The primary endpoint, being alive and free of respiratory failure at day 60, did not reach statistical significance. The authors report a secondary finding of higher odds of survival at 60 days, lower interleukin-6 by day 3, and a subgroup effect in patients on high-flow nasal oxygen at baseline. The abstract's conclusion states the primary endpoint was not met while also arguing for a favourable benefit-risk; readers should weigh the secondary analyses accordingly.