According to a randomized pilot study conducted in Spain, intravenous metoprolol was found to be tied to less lung inflammation and better oxygenation among severely ill COVID-19 patients on intensive mechanical ventilation.

Investigators noted that among 20 patients on mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID, those who received metoprolol for 3 days had lower neutrophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage at day 4, in comparison with those who were not administered the beta-blocker, with the median being 14 vs. 397 neutrophils/μl, respectively. Additionally, in comparison with baseline, oxygenation (PaO2:FiO2) was shown to improve in patients who received IV metoprolol (median 130 to 267), while there was no change in the patients who did not receive the treatment. The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology… (Medpage Today)