Use of baricitinib in treatment of COVID-19: a systematic review

ObjectiveTo assess the role of baricitinib alone or in combination with other therapies as a treatment for patients with COVID-19. MethodsSystematic literature search was conducted in the WHO COVID-19 coronavirus disease database to find clinical studies on use of baricitinib for treatment of COVID-19 between December 1, 2019 and September 30, 2021. Two independent set of reviewers identified the eligible studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria, relevant data was extracted and a qualitative synthesis of evidence performed. The risk of bias was evaluated with validated tools. ResultsA total of 267 articles were found to be eligible after primary screening of titles and abstracts. Following assessment of full texts, 19 studies were finally included for this systematic review, out of which 16 are observational, and 3 are interventional studies. Collating the results from these observational and interventional studies, baricitinib used as add-on to standard therapy, either alone or in combination with other drugs, was found to have favorable outcomes in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Furthermore, ongoing trials indicate that the drug is being extensively studied across the world for its safety and efficacy in COVID-19. ConclusionBaricitinib significantly improves clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, and further evidence will establish the drug as a standard treatment among such patients.