• Statistically significant improvements are seen for ventilation and ICU admission. 3 studies from 3 independent teams in 2 different countries show statistically significant improvements in isolation (not for the most serious outcome).
• Meta analysis using the most serious outcome reported shows 43% [-5‑69%] improvement, without reaching statistical significance. Results are similar for peer-reviewed studies. Early treatment is more effective than late treatment. Currently all studies are RCTs.
• Currently there is limited data, with only 875 patients and only 13 control events for the most serious outcome in trials to date.
• Bromhexine efficacy may vary depending on the degree of TMPRSS-dependent fusion for different variants [Peacock, Willett].
• No treatment, vaccine, or intervention is 100% effective and available. All practical, effective, and safe means should be used based on risk/benefit analysis. Multiple treatments are typically used in combination, and other treatments may be more effective. Only 57% of bromhexine studies show zero events with treatment.
• All data to reproduce this paper and sources are in the appendix.
Percentage improvement with bromhexine (more) | All studies | Prophylaxis | Early treatment | Studies | Patients | Authors |
All studies | 43% [-5‑69%] | 65% [-212‑96%] | 78% [30‑93%]* | 7 | 875 | 110 |
Randomized Controlled TrialsRCTs | 43% [-5‑69%] | 65% [-212‑96%] | 78% [30‑93%]* | 7 | 875 | 110 |
Mortality | 77% [-39‑96%] | 33% [-946‑96%] | 91% [-59‑99%] | 3 | 550 | 34 |
Cases | 62% [-11‑87%] | 62% [-11‑87%] | - | 2 | 422 | 24 |
RCT mortality | 77% [-39‑96%] | 33% [-946‑96%] | 91% [-59‑99%] | 3 | 550 | 34 |
Covid Analysis et al., Jun 2023, preprint, 1 author.