ABSTRACT
The objective of this work is to expand the information provided in the ATAC study, showing the viral load measurements by means of RT-qPCR in tracheobronchial samples from a group of patients with moderate COVID-19, before and after 5 days of standard treatment with aprotinin compared with standard treatment with placebo. The samples of the current study were rescued from participants of a multicentre, double-blind, parallel-arm, randomized phase III trial, performed in four Spanish hospitals with the same inclusion criteria at baseline. Viral load was compared between placebo group and aprotinin-treated group at two time points. At the pre-time (i.e. day 0 before treatment), no significant differences were observed between groups. However, at post-time (i.e. treatment day 5), viral load levels were significantly lower in the aprotinin-treated group. Additionally, a comparative analysis was performed between the placebo group and the aprotinin group. A significantly shorter treatment time was observed in the aprotinin-treated group (p = 0.032), as well as a greater decrease in viral load (p = 0.016). The remaining variables showed no differences between both groups.