Use of almitrine in spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19 treated with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy and with persistent hypoxemia

Background Almitrine, a selective pulmonary vasoconstrictor in hypoxic area, improves oxygenation in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 but its effects in spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19 remain to be determined. Methods We prospectively studied the effects of almitrine (16 µg/kg/min over 30 min followed by continuous administration in responders only) in 62 patients (66% of male, 63 [53–69] years old) with COVID-19 treated with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNO) and with persistent hypoxemia, defined as a PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio < 100 with FiO 2 > 80% after a single awake prone positioning session. Patients with an increase in PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio > 20% were considered as responders. Results Overall, almitrine increased the PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio by 50% (p < 0.01), decreased the partial arterial pressure of carbon dioxide by 7% (p = 0.01) whereas the respiratory rate remained unchanged and 46 (74%) patients were responders. No patient experienced right ventricular dysfunction or acute cor pulmonale. The proportion of responders was similar regardless of the CT-Scan radiological pattern: 71% for the pattern with predominant ground-glass opacities and 76% for the pattern with predominant consolidations (p = 0.65). Responders had lower intubation rate (33 vs. 88%, p < 0.01), higher ventilator-free days at 28-day (28 [20–28 ] vs. 19 [2–24] days, p < 0.01) and shorter ICU length of stay (5 [3–10] vs. 12 [7–30] days, p < 0.01) than non-responders. Conclusions Almitrine could be an interesting therapy in spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19 treated with HFNO and with persistent hypoxemia, given its effects on oxygenation without serious adverse effects regardless of the CT-Scan pattern, and potentially on intubation rate. These preliminary results need to be confirmed by further randomized studies.