Favipiravir Experience in COVID-19 Patients at a Tertiary Center Intensive Care Unit
C Ovid-19, Sultan Acar Sevinc, Ayse Surhan Cin, Nermin Balta Basi, Seyhan Metin, Tugba Yucel, Serkan Islamoglu, Mustafa Altinay, Haci Mustafa Ozdemir, Etfal Sisli, Hospital
SiSli Etfal Hastanesi Tip Bulteni / The Medical Bulletin of Sisli Hospital, doi:10.14744/semb.2021.35902
is the disease caused by severe acute respira- tory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and may present in different clinical scenarios: About 80% of patients present with mild, 13.8% present with severe disease, and 6.1% with critical disease. [1] According to the guidelines published by the Ministry of Health in Turkey, patients with severe and critical disease were advised to be admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). [2] Turkey diagnosed Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare intensive care unit (ICU) and overall hospital mortality in patients treated with favipiravir and lopinavir-ritonavir for COVID-19. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively between March 10 and May 10, 2020, from patients' records admitted to ICU due to COVID-19. Laboratory data, clinical characteristics, ICU and hospital mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay were compared in patients treated with favipiravir and lopinavir-ritonavir. Results: A total of 100 patients' data were investigated. Favipiravir was used as the treatment for 85% of patients, with the rest treated with lopinavir-ritonavir. Clinical and laboratory data of both antiviral treatment groups were similar. Length of hospital stay was 16 (9-24) days with favipiravir and 8.5 (5-12.5) days with lopinavir-ritonavir (p=0.002). Length of ICU stay for favipiravir and lopinavir-ritonavir groups were 8 (5-15) days and 4 (3-9) days, respectively (p=0.011). ICU mortality was 65.9% for the favipiravir and 80% for lopinavir-ritonavir (p=0.002). Hospital mortality for favipiravir and lopinavir-ritonavir was 67.1% and 80%, respectively (p=0.001).
Conclusion: The mortality in patients treated with favipiravir was less than patients treated with lopinavir-ritonavir. Favipiravir needs more attention and trials for its effect to be confirmed.
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