Risk of COVID-19 infection and the associated hospitalization, ICU admission and mortality in opioid use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorder (OUD) as a common drug use disorder can affect public health issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, in which patients with OUD may have higher risk of infection and severe disease. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the risk of COVID-19 and the associated hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality in patients with OUD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive systematic search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science to find studies which compared the infection rate and outcomes of COVID-19 in OUD patients in comparison with the normal population. A random effects meta-analysis model was developed to estimate odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) between the outcomes of COVID-19 and OUD. RESULTS: Out of 2647 articles identified through the systematic search, eight were included in the systematic review and five in the meta-analysis. Among 73,345,758 participants with a mean age of 57.90 ± 13.4 years, 45.67% were male. The findings suggested no significant statistical relationship between COVID-19 infection and OUD (OR (95% CI): 1.18 (0.47–2.96), p-value: 0.73). Additionally, patients with OUD had higher rate of hospitalization (OR (95% CI) 5.98 (5.02–7.13), p-value<0.01), ICU admission (OR (95% CI): 3.47 (2.24–5.39), p-value<0.01), and mortality by COVID-19) OR (95% CI): 1.52(1.27–1.82), pvalue< 0.01). CONCLUSION: The present findings suggested that OUD is a major risk factor for mortality and the need for hospitalization and ICU admission in patients with COVID-19. It is recommended that policymakers and healthcare providers adopt targeted methods to prevent and manage clinical outcomes and decrease the burden of COVID-19, especially in specific populations such as OUD patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13722-022-00349-8.