Standard of care plus telmisartan on respiratory failure due to COVID-19 (STAR-COVID trial).

Background: The potential influence of renin-angiotensin inhibitors on the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been considered in preclinical and observational studies with contradictory results. Therefore, we investigated the effect of telmisartan in reducing lung injury among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Methods: The STAR-COVID trial was conducted as a prospective, parallel-group, randomized, open-label study involving hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 (NCT04510662).