Elshafie AH, Elsawah HK, Hammad M, Sweed EM, Seif AS, Abdel Ghaffar MM, Goda FM, Mosalam EM, Abdallah MS. Ivermectin role in COVID-19 treatment (IRICT): single-center, adaptive, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2022;
20:1341-1350. [PMID:
35788169 DOI:
10.1080/14787210.2022.2098113]
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Abstract
BACKGROUND
To investigate the efficacy and safety of ivermectin compared to hydroxychloroquine and placebo in hospitalized moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The study was an adaptive, randomized, double-blinded, controlled, single-center trial. The study was a series of 3-arm comparisons between two different investigational therapeutic agents (ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine) and a placebo. There was interim monitoring to allow early stopping for futility, efficacy, or safety.
RESULTS
Ivermectin decreased survival time from 29 to 18.3 days (HR, 9.8, 95%CI, 3.7-26.2), while it did not shorten the recovery time (HR, 1.02, 95%CI, 0.69-1.5). Subgroup analysis showed an association between ivermectin-related mortality and baseline oxygen saturation level. Moreover, stratified groups showed higher risk among patients on high flow O2. Hydroxychloroquine delayed recovery from 10.1 to 12.5 days (HR, 0.62, 95%CI, 0.4-0.95) and non-significantly decreased survival time from 29 to 26.8 days (HR, 1.47, 95%CI, 0.73-2.9). However, 3 months mortality rates were increased with hydroxychloroquine (RR, 2.05, 95%CI, 1.33-3.16). Neither ivermectin nor hydroxychloroquine increased adverse events and demonstrated safety profile compared to placebo.
CONCLUSIONS
The study recommends against using either ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with any degree of severity. Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is: NCT04746365.
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