Patient Characteristics and Healthcare Resource Use among Patients With COVID-19 Receiving Treatment with Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (PAXLOVID™) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION

Real-world evidence for the use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in routine clinical practice remains limited in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study aimed to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) of adult patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prescribed nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in the KSA.

METHODS

This was a multicenter, retrospective observational cohort study, including adult patients with COVID-19 who were prescribed nirmatrelvir/ritonavir between April 2022 and June 2024. Data were collected through an electronic case report form from patients' electronic medical records and included patient demographics, clinical characteristics, vaccination history, prescribing characteristics, and HCRU. Data were collected from the index date, defined as the date of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir prescription, up to 30 days post-index. Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarize patient and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and HCRU. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations between patient characteristics and COVID-19-related hospitalization at the index date.

RESULTS

A total of 248 patients were included. The mean age was 49.9 years, 59.7% of patients were women, and 90.3% had at least one comorbidity. At the index date, 48.4% of patients were hospitalized, with 60.0% of hospitalizations related to COVID-19. Within 30 days post-index, 9.3% of patients had a documented hospitalization, of which 8.7% were COVID-19-related. In multivariable analysis, patients aged 50-64 years had a lower likelihood of COVID-19-related hospitalization at the index date compared with those aged 18-30 years (odds ratio 0.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11-0.99).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed a relatively young adult patient population with a high rate of hospitalization at the time of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir initiation. Older age (50-64 years) was associated with a lower likelihood of COVID-19-related hospitalization at the index date. Further research is needed to better characterize the real-world use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and to investigate its potential benefit among hospitalized patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06016556.