OX79 Coronavirus Record Linkage Project

We propose to undertake large scale data linkage between critical and primary care for patients with severe COVID-19 disease to: • allow rapid assessment of the effects of routine medications and • Understand the detailed effects of comorbidities on outcomes. Assessing the effects of routine medications on COVID is urgent for two reasons. Firstly, some medications (for example, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), angiotension II receptor blockers (ARBs), thiazolidinediones and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)) have been implicated in causing severe disease. As a result patients and clinicians are unclear about whether they should be continued. Secondly, it has been suggested that some routine medications (for example corticosteroids and hydroxychloroquine) may treat or ameliorate infection. In both cases, the evidence underlying effects is limited. Detailed knowledge of how different comorbidities affect outcome once admitted to an ICU is critical to optimum intensive care practice during the course of the pandemic.