Study population
Patients with a positive SARS-CoV 2 RT PCR test who required
hospitalisation were included in the trial. Patients were required to
have a WHO modified ordinal clinical scale (MOCS) score (Table 1) of 3
– 5; subjects requiring mechanical ventilation were not eligible.
Exclusion criteria included known hypersensitivity to heparin or related
compounds, or the diagnosis of a pulmonary obstructive disease. Any
patients requiring admission to ICU ceased to receive any further
treatment with nebulised UFH.
We collected the following baseline demographic and clinical data: age,
sex, co-morbidities, WHO modified ordinal clinical scale (MOCS) for
COVID-19, as shown in Table 1, level of respiratory support, other
treatments reflecting the standard of care in use during the time of the
trial, including the use of any prophylactic or therapeutic
anti-coagulant treatment. We also collected the following
treatment-related variables: nebulised UFH dose (daily and cumulative),
treatment duration, missed doses and reasons for this. The following
safety outcomes were also assessed: baseline and peak activated partial
thromboplastin time (APTT), the incidence of epistaxis, blood-stained
sputum, pulmonary bleeding, major bleeding, heparin-induced
thrombocytopenia, and any other serious adverse events.
Table 1. WHO modified ordinal
clinical scale (MOCS) for COVID-19