Use of Calcium Channel Blockers and the Risk of All-cause Mortality and Severe Illness in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#calcium-channel-blockers #humans #odds-ratio #covid-19-drug-treatment

Use of Calcium Channel Blockers and the Risk of All-cause Mortality and Severe Illness in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Kow et al., 2022 | J Cardiovasc Pharmacol | Meta Analysis

Citation

Kow Chia Siang, Ramachandram Dinesh Sangarran, Hasan Syed Shahzad. Use of Calcium Channel Blockers and the Risk of All-cause Mortality and Severe Illness in Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2022-Feb-01;79(2):199-205. doi:10.1097/FJC.0000000000001144

Abstract

Owing to the reported safety concerns, we aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effect of preadmission/prediagnosis use of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) on the clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. A systematic literature search with no language restriction was conducted in electronic databases in July 2021 to identify eligible studies. The outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and severe illness. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled summary measure for outcomes of interest with the preadmission/prediagnosis use of CCBs relative to nonuse CCBs, at 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The meta-analyses revealed no significant difference in the odds of all-cause mortality [pooled odds ratio (OR) = 0.82; 95% CI 0.68-1.00; n = 58,355] and in the odds of severe illness (pooled OR = 0.83; 95% CI 0.61-1.15; n = 46,091) respectively, with preadmission/prediagnosis use of CCBs relative to nonuse of CCBs. Nevertheless, subgroup analysis of studies originated from East Asia reported a significant reduction in the odds of all-cause mortality (pooled OR = 0.50; 95% CI 0.37-0.68) and the odds of severe illness (pooled OR = 0.51; 95% CI 0.33-0.78). There may not be safety concerns with the use of CCBs in patients with COVID-19, but their potential protective effects in the East Asian patients merit further investigations.

Key Findings

There may not be safety concerns with the use of CCBs in patients with COVID-19, but their potential protective effects in the East Asian patients merit further investigations.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population covid
Sample Size 58355
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Calcium Channel Blockers
  • Humans
  • Odds Ratio
  • COVID-19 Drug Treatment

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review
  • Vertical: calcium

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09