Role of Famotidine and Other Acid Reflux Medications for SARS-CoV-2: A Pilot Study.
Bailey Balouch, Swetha Vontela, Heather Yeakel and 2 others
PMID 33516648WHAT IT FOUND
Patients taking famotidine or proton pump inhibitors for acid reflux were no less likely to catch SARS-CoV-2 than those who did not.
The medications offered no protection against infection, and did not increase the risk of catching it either.
Key findings
01Famotidine use was not associated with a decreased probability of a symptomatically suspected COVID-19 case after adjusting for other factors.
02Incidence of laboratory-confirmed and symptomatically suspected COVID-19 did not differ significantly between groups based on reflux medication use (no reflux, untreated reflux, famotidine only, PPI only, or both).
03High risk obesity (BMI >35) was associated with a significantly higher probability for symptomatically suspected COVID-19, independent of other factors.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The response rate was low (9.23%), which may introduce selection bias. The study was underpowered to detect small effects due to the low overall incidence of COVID-19 in the respondent group. Many 'cases' were based on self-reported symptoms rather than PCR testing, which can be inaccurate. The study only looked at oral famotidine at doses typical for reflux management (average 34 mg/day), so it cannot rule out effects of high-dose or intravenous famotidine.
Declared interests
The study was approved by the Drexel University College of Medicine Institutional Review Board. No specific funding sources or commercial conflicts of interest are detailed in the provided text, though the institution hosted the survey tool.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this null result as proof that acid reflux medications have absolutely no effect on any aspect of COVID-19. The study used standard oral doses for reflux, not the high doses or intravenous routes sometimes discussed in other contexts, and the low number of confirmed cases means a small protective or harmful effect could have been missed.