Efficacy of Melatonin in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Lan et al.,
Efficacy of Melatonin in the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of..,
Journal of Medical Virology, doi:10.1002/jmv.27595
Systematic review and meta analysis including 3 of the 5 melatonin RCTs at the time, showing significantly higher recovery with treatment, and lower ICU admission and mortality without statistical significance. The analysis only includes trials before 9/11/21. Adding Hasan (October 2021) results in statistically significant lower mortality.
Currently there are
18 melatonin studies and meta analysis shows:
Lan et al., 14 Jan 2022, peer-reviewed, 6 authors.
Abstract: Chih-Cheng Lai
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6334-2388
Efficacy of Melatonin in the Treatment of Patients With
COVID-19:
A
Systematic
Review
and
Meta-Analysis
of
Accepted Article
Randomized Controlled Trials
Shao-Huan Lan,1,# Hong-Zin Lee,2,# Chien-Ming Chao,3,
#
Shen-Peng Chang,4
Li-Chin Lu,5 Chih-Cheng Lai6,*
1
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medical Technology, Putian University,
Putian 351100, China. shawnlan0713@gmail.com
2
School
of
Pharmacy,
China
Medical
University,
Taichung.
hong@mial.cou.edu.tw
3
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying,
Taiwan. ccm870958@yahoo.com.tw
4
Yijia Pharmacy, Tainan 70846, Taiwan. httremoon@ms.szmc.edu.tw
5
School
of
Management,
Putian
University,
Putian
351100,
China.
jane90467@gmail.com
6
Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Tainan
Branch, Tainan, Taiwan. dtmed141@gmail.com
# The two authors contributed equally
This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but
has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading
process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of
Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/jmv.27595.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
*Corresponding author: Dr. Chih-Cheng Lai, Department of Internal Medicine,
Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Tainan Branch, Tainan, Taiwan.
Accepted Article
dtmed141@gmail.com
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of melatonin on clinical outcomes in patients
with COVID-19. We searched PubMed, the Web of Science, the Cochrane Library,
Ovid MEDLINE, and Clinicaltrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
published before September 11, 2021. Only RCTs that compared the clinical
efficacy of melatonin with a placebo in the treatment of patients with COVID-19
was included. The primary outcome measure was the clinical recovery rate. We
included 3 RCTs in this meta-analysis. Melatonin 3 mg thrice daily was
administered in one RCT, and 3 or 6 mg daily before bedtime in other two trials.
Treatment duration was 14 days in two RCTs and 7 days in one trial. The clinical
recovery rates were 94.2% (81/86) and 82.4% (70/85) in the melatonin and
control groups, respectively. Overall, patients receiving melatonin had a higher
clinical recovery rate than did the controls (odds ratio [OR], 3.67; 95% CI,
1.21-11.12; I2 = 0%, P = .02). The risk of intensive care unit admission was
numerically lower in the melatonin group than in the control group (8.3% [6/72]
vs 17.6% [12/68], OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.16-1.25; I2 = 0%, P = .13), and the risk of
mortality was numerically lower in the melatonin group than in the control group
(1.4% [1/72] vs 4.4% [3/68], OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.03-3.18; I2 = 0%, P = .33). In
conclusion, melatonin may help improve the clinical outcomes of patients with
COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19, melatonin, outcome, SARS-CoV-2
Highlight
This study investigated the effect of melatonin on clinical outcomes in
patients with COVID-19.
Patients receiving melatonin had a higher clinical recovery rate than did the
controls (odds ratio [OR], 3.67; 95% CI, 1.21-11.12; I2 = 0%, P = .02).
The risk of intensive care unit admission was only insignificantly lower in
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
the melatonin group than in the control group
The risk of mortality was insignificantly lower in the..
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