Effects of Hydroxychloroquine Plus Favipiravir Treatment on the Clinical Course and Biomarkers in Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients with Pneumonia

ABSTRACT

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, the most common serious clinical manifestation of the coronavirus infection being pneumo-nia. Unfortunately, the optimal treatment approach is still uncertain. However, many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of several medications in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) + favipiravir (FAV) treatment regimen and HCQ alone by comparing the patient's clinical response and laboratory results on the fifth day of treatment in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection. Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in Malatya Training and Research Hospital between March 2020 and July 2020. The study included 69 patients with confirmed COVID-19 with pneumonia. The patients were divided into 2 groups, those receiving HCQ alone and those receiving the HCQ + FAV combination. Result(s) A total of 69 patients were included in the study, and the mean age was 60.09+/-15.56 years. A statistically significant decrease was observed in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, at the end of the fifth day, in patients who received HCQ + FAV treatment (p=0.002), whereas there was no decrease in CRP levels in patients who received HCQ treatment alone. In addition, an increase in lymphocyte count and a better fever response was observed at the end of the fifth day in patients who received HCQ + FAV (p=0.008). However, there was no statistical difference between both treatment regimens in terms of hospital stay and treatment results (p=0.008, p=0.744, p=0.517). Conclusion(s) Although the combination of HCQ + FAV treatment was observed to be effective on CRP levels and fever response in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, there was no difference in terms of hospital stay and discharge.Copyright © 2022, Dr. Mladen Stojanovic University Hospital. All rights reserved.