Abstract
BackgroundThe outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) posed an enormous threat to public health. The use of antiviral drugs in patients with this disease have triggered people’s attentions. Whether interferon alfa-2b or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) plus interferon alfa-2b treatment can against SARS-CoV-2 was unknown. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of interferon alfa-2b and LPV/r plus interferon alfa-2b for SARS-CoV-2 infection in adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study of 123 patients confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by PCR on nasopharyngeal swab and symptoms between Jan. 13 and Apr. 23, 2020. All patients received standard supportive care and regular clinical monitoring. Patients were assigned to standard care group (n = 12), interferon alfa-2b group (n = 44), and combination LPV/r plus interferon alfa-2b group (n = 67). The primary endpoints were duration of required oxygen support and virus clearance time. Associations between therapies and these outcomes were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsBaseline clinical characteristics were not significantly different among the three groups (P > 0.05). No significant associations were observed between LPV/r/interferon alfa-2b and faster SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance (HR, 0.85 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45–1.61]; P = 0.61 in interferon alfa-2b group vs HR, 0.59 [95% CI 0.32–1.11]; P = 0.10 in LPV/r plus interferon alfa-2b group). Individual therapy groups also showed no significant association with duration of required oxygen support. There were no significant differences among the three groups in the incidence of adverse events (P > 0.05).ConclusionsIn patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, no benefit was observed from interferon alfa-2b or LPV/r plus interferon alfa-2b treatment. The findings may provide references for treatment guidelines of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Highlights
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) posed an enormous threat to public health
SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed by RT-PCR assays of respiratory tract samples from nasopharyngeal swabs performed by the local Center for Disease Control or by our institutional laboratory
In terms of laboratory results, blood indices of COVID-19 patients were within the normal range on the admission, including peripheral white cell count, platelets, C-reactive protein, serum creatinine, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, bilirubin, Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase
Summary
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) posed an enormous threat to public health. The use of antiviral drugs in patients with this disease have triggered people’s attentions. Whether interferon alfa-2b or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) plus interferon alfa-2b treatment can against SARS-CoV-2 was unknown. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of interferon alfa-2b and LPV/r plus interferon alfa-2b for SARS-CoV-2 infection in adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), poses an enormous threat to public health [1,2,3,4]. COVID-19 cases are frequently associated with respiratory and multiorgan dysfunction that can result in death [7,8,9]. The use of antiviral drugs in patients with this disease has raised numerous questions and critical considerations, especially concerning whether currently available antiviral drugs can be used to effectively cure this disease
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