A year ago, investigators set out to study whether symptomatic COVID-19 outpatients should be given anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy to prevent clots that were reported among some patients with COVID-19. The data collected to date, through a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), suggests a very low rate of thrombotic complications in the patients studied. Trial leadership has found that for mildly symptomatic COVID-19 outpatients who have been sick at home for at least a week and who remain clinically stable and have no risk factors for thrombotic events, rates of major cardio-pulmonary complications do not justify antithrombotic therapy. Given these data, the study’s Data and Safety Monitoring Board has recommended to end the trial.
