Ivermectin useful for treating mild COVID-19

A 5-day course of the Food and Drug Administration-approved antiparasitic agent ivermectin appears safe and effective in the treatment of adult patients with early-onset mild COVID-19, a study has reported.

The study randomized 72 adult SARS-CoV-2 patients (mean age, 42 years; 54 percent female) to one of the following treatment courses: oral ivermectin alone (12 mg once daily for 5 days; n=24), oral ivermectin (12 mg single dose) in combination with doxycycline (200 mg on day 1, followed by 100 mg every 12 hours for the next 4 days; n=24), and a placebo (n=24).

Fever, cough, and sore throat were the most common symptoms observed, and the proportion of patients presenting them was similar across the three groups. The duration of illness before assessment was an average of 3.83 days.

The mean duration of hospitalization following treatment was 9.7 days (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 8.1–11.0) in the placebo group, 10.1 days (95 percent CI, 8.5–11.8) in the combination group, and 9.6 days (95 percent CI 7.7–11.7) in the ivermectin alone group (p=0.93). None of the patients required oxygen.

The mean values of the blood biomarkers dropped from baseline to day 7 in all treatment groups, with the reductions being significant for C-reactive protein (p=0.02) and lactose dehydrogenase (LDH; p=0.01) in the ivermectin arm and for LDH in the placebo arm (p=0.01).

Virological clearance occurred earlier with ivermectin monotherapy than with placebo (9.7 vs 12.7 days; p=0.02), but this was not the case with the combination (11.5 days; p=0.27). None of the patients developed severe adverse events on the study drug.

Larger trials are warranted to confirm the present data.