Aims and hypotheses
The primary hypothesis of the meta-trial is that inhaled nebulised UFH
in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 who do not require immediate
invasive mechanical ventilation, significantly reduces rates of
intubation (or death, for patients who died before intubation) at day
28, compared to standard care alone. We also hypothesise that treatment
with inhaled nebulised UFH of hospitalised patients with COVID-19
reduces the risk of death, reduces the risk of clinical worsening, and
improves oxygenation.
The collective aim of the study is to reach a conclusion about the
efficacy of inhaled UFH in COVID-19 as quickly as possible by pooling
information from multiple clinical trials not originally configured as a
network, and therefore with different treatment protocols, control
conditions and primary outcomes. [6]