Antiviral Used among Non-Severe COVID-19 Cases in Relation to Time till Viral Clearance: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Hafez et al.,
Antiviral Used among Non-Severe COVID-19 Cases in Relation to Time till Viral Clearance: A Retrospective..,
Antibiotics, doi:10.3390/antibiotics11040498
Retrospective hospitalized patients in the United Arab Emirates, showing no significant difference in viral clearance with different combinations of HCQ, AZ, favipiravir, and lopinavir/ritonavir.
viral clearance time, 12.3% lower, HR 0.88, p = 0.59, treatment 40, control 1,446, inverted to make HR<1 favor treatment, Cox proportional hazards.
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viral clearance time, 58.7% lower, HR 0.41, p = 0.09, treatment 4, control 1,446, inverted to make HR<1 favor treatment, HCQ + favipiravir + lopinavir/ritonavir, Cox proportional hazards.
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Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates
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Hafez et al., 8 Apr 2022, retrospective, United Arab Emirates, peer-reviewed, 6 authors.
Abstract: antibiotics
Article
Antiviral Used among Non-Severe COVID-19 Cases in Relation
to Time till Viral Clearance: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Wael Hafez 1,2, *, Husam Saleh 1 , Ziad Al Baha 1 , Mishal Tariq 1 , Samah Hamdan 1 and Shougyat Ahmed 1
1
2
*
Citation: Hafez, W.; Saleh, H.; Al
Baha, Z.; Tariq, M.; Hamdan, S.;
Ahmed, S. Antiviral Used among
Non-Severe COVID-19 Cases in
Relation to Time till Viral Clearance:
A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Antibiotics 2022, 11, 498. https://
doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11040498
NMC Royal Hospital, 16th Street, Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi P.O. BOX 35233, United Arab Emirates;
husam.saleh@nmc.ae (H.S.); ziad.albaha@nmc.ae (Z.A.B.); mishal.tariq@nmc.ae (M.T.);
samah.hamdan@nmc.ae (S.H.); shougyat.ahmed@nmc.ae (S.A.)
The Medical Research Division, Department of Internal Medicine, The National Research Center,
El Buhouth Street, Cairo 12622, Egypt
Correspondence: wael.hafez@nmc.ae; Tel.: +971-22035000 or +971-561987354
Abstract: (1) Background: The WHO identified COVID-19 as a fast-growing epidemic worldwide.
A few antivirals have shown promising effectiveness in treating COVID-19. This study aimed to
assess the correlation between antiviral drugs and the time until viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2.
(2) Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study that included 1731 non-severe COVID-19 patients
treated in NMC Royal Hospital, UAE. (3) Results: A total of 1446 patients received symptomatic
treatment only (mean age of 35.6 ± 9.0 years). The analyzed antiviral treatment protocols were
azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, and favipiravir. The produced Kaplan–Meier
plots showed no significant differences in the time until viral clearance among the compared protocols,
which showed overlapping confidence intervals, which were determined by performing the log-rank
and adjusted pairwise log-rank tests (p = 0.2, log-rank = 9.3). The age and gender of patients did
not significantly affect the rate of viral clearance regardless of the antiviral therapy administered,
even when compared to patients who received symptomatic treatment only, with the exception of
hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), azithromycin, and favipiravir, which increased the odds of a faster
rate of viral clearance by 46% after adjustments. (4) Conclusions: No significant differences were
observed regarding the time until viral clearance among non-severe COVID-19 patients following the
prescription of different antiviral drugs.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral drugs; drug repurposing; viral clearance; symptomatic
treatment
Academic Editors: Diaa Alrahmany
and Islam M. Ghazi
Received: 4 March 2022
Accepted: 4 April 2022
Published: 8 April 2022
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