Patients with chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), even in the Omicron era and after vaccination, suffer from persistent COVID-19 infection, higher complications, and mortality compared with the general population. In this study, we evaluated retrospectively the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir + ritonavir among 1080 patients with CLL who were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Nirmatrelvir administration was associated with a reduction in COVID-19-related hospitalization or death by day 35. Specifically, the rate of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death in the treated group compared with the untreated group was 4.8% (14 out of 292) vs 10.2% (75 out of 733), respectively. Moreover, we report a 69% relative risk reduction in COVID-19-related hospitalization or death in patients with CLL at the age of ≥65 years. Multivariate analysis indicates that patients aged >65 years, patients who received heavy treatment (>2 previous treatments), patients with recent hospitalizations, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment, and comorbidity had significant improvement outcomes after treatment with nirmatrelvir.
© 2023 by The American Society of Hematology.