Association of prehospital antiplatelet therapy with survival in patients hospitalized with COVID‐19: A propensity score‐matched analysis

Purpose Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is associated with hypercoagulability and increased thrombotic risk. The impact of prehospital antiplatelet therapy on in‐hospital mortality is uncertain. Methods This was an observational cohort study of 34 675 patients ≥50 years old from 90 health systems in the United States. Patients were hospitalized with laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 between February 2020 and September 2020. For all patients, the propensity to receive prehospital antiplatelet therapy was calculated using demographics and comorbidities. Patients were matched based on propensity scores, and in‐hospital mortality was compared between the antiplatelet and non‐antiplatelet groups. Results The propensity score‐matched cohort of 17 347 patients comprised of 6781 and 10 566 patients in the antiplatelet and non‐antiplatelet therapy groups, respectively. In‐hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients receiving prehospital antiplatelet therapy (18.9% vs. 21.5%, p