ABSTRACT
BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic has ignited the urge for repurposing old drugs as candidate antiviral medicines to treat novel challenges of viral infections. Niclosamide (NCS) is an anti-parasitic drug of known antiviral potential. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the antiviral effect and safety of NCS on SARS-CoV-2 caused COVID-19 patients. MethodsRandomized controlled open label clinical trial encompassed 75 COVID-19 patients treated with standard of care plus NCS were included as experimental group and 75 COVID-19 patients treated with only standard of care therapy as control group. Each group was composed of 25 mild, 25 moderate and 25 severe patients. Survival rate, time to recovery, and side effects were the main endpoints for the assessment of the therapeutic effect and safety of NCS. ResultsNCS did not enhance survival rate as three of severe COVID-19 patients in NCS and in control groups died (P>0.05). However, NCS, compared to control group, reduced the time to recovery in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients about 5 and 3 days, respectively but not in mild patients (P[≤]0.05). Most interestingly, NCS lowered time to recovery up to five days in patients with co-morbidities (P[≤]0.05) whereas only one day lowered in patients without co-morbidities (P>0.05). ConclusionIt is concluded that NCS accelerates time to recovery about 3 to 5 days in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients especially those with co-morbidities; hence, NCS is of clinical benefit for freeing hospital beds for more patients in pandemic crisis.
ABSTRACT
ObjectivesCOVID-19 patients suffer from the lack of curative therapy. Hence, there is an urgent need to try repurposed old drugs on COVID-19. MethodsRandomized controlled study on 70 COVID-19 patients (48 mild-moderate, 11 severe, and 11 critical patients) treated with 200ug/kg PO of Ivermectin per day for 2-3 days along with 100mg PO doxycycline twice per day for 5-10 days plus standard therapy; the second arm is 70 COVID-19 patients (48 mild-moderate and 22 severe and zero critical patients) on standard therapy. The time to recovery, the progression of the disease, and the mortality rate were the outcome-assessing parameters. Resultsamong all patients and among severe patients, 3/70 (4.28%) and 1/11 (9%), respectively progressed to a more advanced stage of the disease in the Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 7/70 (10%) and 7/22 (31.81%), respectively in the control group (P>0.05). The mortality rate was 0/48 (0%), 0/11 (0%), and 2/11 (18.2%) in mild-moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 patients, respectively in Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 0/48 (0%), and 6/22 (27.27%) in mild-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, respectively in standard therapy group (p=0.052). Moreover, the mean time to recovery was 6.34, 20.27, and 24.13 days in mild-moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 patients, respectively in Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 13.66 and 24.25 days in mild-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, respectively in standard therapy group (P<0.01). ConclusionsIvermectin with doxycycline reduced the time to recovery and the percentage of patients who progress to more advanced stage of disease; in addition, Ivermectin with doxycycline reduced mortality rate in severe patients from 22.72% to 0%; however, 18.2% of critically ill patients died with Ivermectin and doxycycline therapy. Taken together, the earlier administered Ivermectin with doxycycline, the higher rate of successful therapy.
ABSTRACT
ObjectivesThe current COVID-19 pandemic needs unconventional therapies to tackle the resulted high morbidity and mortality. Convalescent plasma is one of the therapeutic approaches that might be of benefit. MethodsForty nine early-stage critically-ill COVID-19 patients residing in RCU of three hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq were included, 21 received convalescent plasma while 28 did not receive, namely control group. Recovery or death, length of stay in hospital, and improvement in the clinical course of the disease were monitored clinically along with laboratory monitoring through SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection via PCR, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM serological monitoring. ResultsPatients received convalescent plasma showed reduced duration of infection in about 4 days, and showed less death rate, 1/21 versus 8/28 in control group. In, addition, all of the patients received convalescent plasma showed high levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM 3 days after plasma transfusion. Plasma from donors with high levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and donors with positive SRAS-CoV-2 IgM showed better therapeutic results than other donors. ConclusionsConvalescent plasma therapy is an effective mode of therapy if donors with high level of SARS-Cov2 antibodies are selected and if recipients were at their early stage of critical illness, being no more than 3 days in RCU.
