To Study the Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Remdesivir in Hospitalized Adult Patients with Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Disease in ICU of a Tertiary Center in Bihar

ABSTRACT

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected the human health and wealth across the globe and is still posing a serious challenge to us. In the armamentarium of various drugs approved for COVID-19, remdesivir proved to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of moderate-to-severe cases. Our study is regarding its clinical efficacy and safety in hospitalized reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed adult patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 disease. Material and methods: A total of 100 patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (RT-PCR positive) admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), Muzaffarpur, Bihar, were enrolled in the study from 12th August to 11th November, 2020. All patients were given injection remdesivir as 200 mg IV loading dose on Day 1, followed by 100 mg IV daily for next 4 days along with other standard treatment. Results: Out of total 100 patients, 88 patients recovered and were discharged, while 12 patients died. Mean age of patients was 54 ± 16 years with male preponderance (41). Mean duration of hospital stay was 10.6 ± 5.4 days. C-reactive protein, D-dimer, ferritin and interleukin-6 decreased significantly after treatment with remdesivir, with p value <0.01, as compared to values at the time of admission, without any significant side effects. Conclusion: Early administration of remdesivir helps contribute to better clinical outcome in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 disease, without any significant side effects.