Benefits of Treatment With Favipiravir in Hospitalized Patients for COVID-19: a Retrospective Observational Case-control Study
Uçan et al.,
Benefits of Treatment With Favipiravir in Hospitalized Patients for COVID-19: a Retrospective Observational..,
Research Square, doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-175340/v1 (Preprint)
Retrospective 144 COVID-19 patients in Turkey, one group receiving FPV after a mean of 4.7 days, a second group after a mean of 8.6 days, and all groups receiving HCQ. No improvement in clinical outcomes was seen with the addition of FPV, however the groups are not comparable and no adjustments were made. FPV was first used in patients whose clinical condition worsened or whose pneumonia findings progressed, while later patients started FPV treatment early.
Uçan et al., 4 Feb 2021, retrospective, Turkey, preprint, 8 authors, average treatment delay 4.73 days.
Abstract: Benefits of Treatment With Favipiravir in
Hospitalized Patients for COVID-19: a Retrospective
Observational Case-control Study
Anıl Uçan ( anil.ucan@saglik.gov.tr )
Ministry of Health https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8771-6121
Pamir Çerçi
Eskisehir State Hospital: Eskisehir Devlet Hastanesi
Serdar Efe
Eskisehir State Hospital: Eskisehir Devlet Hastanesi
Hakan Akgün
Eskişehir Devlet Hastanesi: Eskisehir Devlet Hastanesi
Ahmet Özmen
Eskişehir Devlet Hastanesi: Eskisehir Devlet Hastanesi
Aysel Yağmuroğlu
Eskişehir Devlet Hastanesi: Eskisehir Devlet Hastanesi
Muzaffer Bilgin
Osmangazi University: Eskisehir Osmangazi Universitesi
Deniz Avcı
Kayseri City Hospital: TC Saglik Bakanligi Kayseri Sehir Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi
Research
Keywords: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, Pneumonia, Favipiravir, Hydroxychloroquine,
Antiviral therapy
Posted Date: February 4th, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-175340/v1
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Abstract
Background: Although more than a year past since COVID-19 was defined, there is no specific treatment
yet. Since COVID-19 management differs over time, it is hard to determine which therapy is more
efficacious. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the regimen with Favipiravir (FPV) and
determine if the timing of FPV addition offers any improvement.
Methods: A retrospective observational case-controlled cohort study was performed between March and
Sep-tember 2020, including adults with COVID-19 in a single-center in Turkey. We categorized patients
into age-sex matched three groups, group 1 (n=48) and group 2 (n=48) included patients treated with the
combination of FPV plus Hydroxychloroquine (HQ) early and late, respectively. Group 3 (n=48) consisted
of patients on HQ monot-herapy. In Group 2, if the respiratory or clinic condition had not improved
sufficiently, FPV was added on or after day 3.
Results: We found that starting FPV early had an impact on PCR negativity and the progression of the
disease. 'No progression' was defined as the absence of a new finding in the control radiological
examination and the absence of accompanying clinical deterioration. Also, the decrease in C-reactive
protein (CRP) was greater in Group 1 than Group 3 (p <0.001). However, we found that early initiation of
FPV treatment did not have a posi-tive effect on the estimated survival time.
Conclusions: According to this retrospective study results, we believe that for better clinical outcomes,
FPV treatment should be started promptly to enhance antiviral effects and improve clinical outcomes.
Introductions
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, most of its clinical manifestations causing a respiratory illness with noncharacteristic symptoms, was observed in a group of patients with unknown cause pneumonia in Wuhan,
China, in December 2019 (1). By the time, the cause of this disease is understood to be a new
coronavirus. It was temporarily named the new coronavirus 2019 (nCoV) by the World Health
Organization (WHO). In February 2020, the emerging clinical manifestation was redefined as "COVID − 19"
(coronavirus disease 2019). Since the beginning of the pandemic, the new coronavirus has caused over
79 million reported cases and more than 1.7 million deaths worldwide, as of December 29, 2020 (2).
In COVID-19, there is an incubation period of approximately 5.2 days between the appearance of
symptoms and..
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