The effect of favipiravir versus hydroxychloroquine on clinical and laboratory findings in COVID-19 in healthcare workers
Derya Bayırlı Turan, Mehtap Menteş, Yıldıran Özel, Kıvanç Şerefhanoğlu, Burcu Aydoğan, Neşe İbil, Füsun Güneşdoğdu, Hijran Mammadova Orucova, Cüneyt Saltürk, Hakan Çelik
The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1016/j.bjid.2022.102328
Objectives: Comparative data on hydroxychloroquine and favipiravir, commonly used agents in the treatment of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), are still limited. In this study, it was aimed to compare treatment outcomes in healthcare workers with COVID-19 who were prospectively followed by the occupational health and safety unit. Methods: A total of 237 healthcare-workers, diagnosed as mild or moderate COVID-19 between March 11, 2020 and January 1, 2021, were given hydroxychloroquine (n = 114) or favipiravir (n = 123). Clinical and laboratory findings were evaluated.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 33.4 §11.5 years. The mean time to negative PCR was found to be significantly shorter in patients receiving favipiravir compared to the hydroxychloroquine group (10.9 vs. 13.9 days; p < 0.001). The rate of hospitalization in the hydroxychloroquine group was significantly higher than favipiravir group (15.8% vs. 3.3%). In terms of side effects; the frequency of diarrhea in patients receiving hydroxychloroquine was significantly higher than that in the favipiravir group (31.6% vs. 6.5%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Favipiravir and hydroxychloroquine were similar in terms of improvement of clinical symptoms of healthcare workers with mild or moderate COVID-19 infection, but favipiravir was significantly more effective in reducing viral load and hospitalization rates. Furthermore, favipiravir caused significantly less side-effects than hydroxychloroquine.
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