A study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases demonstrated that the administration of nintedanib (an antifibrotic agent that interferes with processes of pulmonary fibrosis) might offer promising benefits for reducing lung injury in adult COVID-19 patients needing mechanical ventilation. This interventional study was carried out to explore the efficacy and safety of nintedanib in people diagnosed with coronavirus infection.

In this single-center study, 28-day mortality following initiation of mechanical ventilation was the major outcome, while the length of mechanical ventilation, the volume of lung impairment, and the occurrence of gastrointestinal side effects and acute hepatic failure were the secondary outcomes. Overall, 30 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 underwent nintedanib treatment. The historical control group incorporated 30 people not receiving nintedanib.

No profound differences were noted in 28-day mortality between the two groups (23.3% vs 20%). Nintedanib-treated people exhibited considerably shorter lengths of mechanical ventilation. Computed tomography volumetry demonstrated that the proportion of high-attenuation areas were remarkably reduced in the nintedanib-treated people at liberation from mechanical ventilation (38.7% vs 25.7%). No vital differences in the adverse events were noted. Thus, nintedanib appears to yield satisfactory outcomes in SARS-CoV-2-infected people.