Evaluation of the Relationship between Favipiravir Use Status and Telogen Effluvium in Patients Diagnosed with COVID-19

Abstract

Favipiravir (FVP) is a competitive inhibitor of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and is also a purine nucleoside analogue. It produces antiviral activity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has been used to treat COVID-19. Telogen effluvium (TE) is a widespread, non-scarring shedding due to the early entry of hair during the telogen phase. The most prevalent causes are drugs, physiological and emotional stress, surgery, high fever, chronic infections, diet, iron deficiency, and smoking. In this study, we investigated whether there was a significant difference in terms of TE by questioning the patients who had coronavirus in the last 1 year, and who received and did not receive FVP treatment. This study included patients aged 18-65 years old who applied to the Karaman Training and Research Hospital, Dermatology, and Venereal Diseases outpatient clinic complaining of hair loss and having had COVID-19 in the last year. We confirmed the diagnosis of TE by using trichoscopy on patients with a positive pull test. We investigated whether there was a difference in terms of TE and other types of hair loss between patients who received FVP treatment and those who did not. For the study Karamanoglu Mehmet Bey University ethics committee approval was obtained (June 16, 2022). As a result of comparing the patients' gender, comorbidity, pull test, and thyroscopic findings according to the use of FVP, it was clear that most of the FVP users were women (p = 0.027). Among those who did not use FVP, positive pull test scores were significantly higher (p = 0.026). The fact that the pull test was significantly lower in patients in our study using FVP may suggest that FVP has no effect on TE’s development. We did not find any study on its effect on alopecia and TE. We think that our study is also important in this respect.