Evaluation of antiviral therapies for coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia in Shanghai, China

Abstract

The aim of our study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of antiviral drugs on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Patients confirmed with COVID-19 pneumonia were enrolled and divided into seven groups according to the treatment option. Information including age, sex, and duration from illness onset to admission, clinical manifestations, and laboratory data at admission, and length of hospital stay were evaluated. The chest computed tomography (CT) imaging obtained at admission and after a 5-day treatment cycle were assessed. The clinical symptoms and laboratory tests at discharge were also assessed. At admission, no significant differences were found among the groups, including the duration from illness onset to admission, clinical symptoms, and main laboratory results. No significant differences were found among the groups in terms of the proportion of patients with pneumonia resolution (P = .151) after treatment or the length of hospital stay (P = .116). At discharge, 7 of 184 (4%) patients had a mild cough while their other symptoms had disappeared, and the proportion of patients with abnormal liver function and with increased leukocytes, neutrophils or erythrocyte sedimentation rate among the 184 patients were close to those at admission. According to the results, the inclusion of antiviral drugs in therapeutic regimens based on symptomatic treatment had no significant additional impact on the improvement in COVID-19 patients. In addition, the results of chest CT imaging, clinical manifestations, and laboratory tests at discharge were not completely consistent.

Keywords: COVID-19 pneumonia; CT imaging; antiviral drug; therapeutic effect.

Figure 1

Computed tomography (CT) images (A) of a 40‐year‐old man who presented with fever (37.8°C) and myalgia at admission show multiple patchy ground‐glass opacities distributed in the peripheral part of the lungs. After symptomatic treatment along with darunavir for 5 days, follow‐up CT images show resolution (B)

Figure 2

Computed tomography (CT) images (A) of a 64‐year‐old woman who presented with fever (38.0°C) and cough at admission show less patchy ground‐glass opacities distributed in the peripheral part of the lungs. After symptomatic treatment for 5 days, follow‐up CT images show the progression (B)