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Observational Study
. 2022 Apr;94(4):1473-1480.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.27469. Epub 2021 Nov 29.

Effectiveness and safety of Ivermectin in COVID-19 patients: A prospective study at a safety-net hospital

Muhammet Ozer  1 , Suleyman Yasin Goksu  2 , Reena Conception  3 , Esad Ulker  1 , Rodolfo Magallanes Balderas  1 , Mohammed Mahdi  1 , Zulfiya Manning  1 , Kim To  3 , Muhammad Effendi  3 , Rajashree Anandakrishnan  4 , Marc Whitman  4 , Manish Gugnani  5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Effectiveness and safety of Ivermectin in COVID-19 patients: A prospective study at a safety-net hospital

Muhammet Ozer et al. J Med Virol. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Ivermectin has been found to inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in vitro. It is unknown whether this inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication correlates with improved clinical outcomes. To assess the effectiveness and safety of ivermectin in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. A total of 286 patients with COVID-19 were included in the study. Univariate analysis of the primary mortality outcome and comparisons between treatment groups were determined. Logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for confounders. Patients in the ivermectin group received 2 doses of Ivermectin at 200 μg/kg in addition to usual clinical care on hospital Days 1 and 3. The ivermectin group had a significantly higher length of hospital stay than the control group; however, this significance did not maintain on multivariable logistic regression analysis. The length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and duration of mechanical ventilation were longer in the control group. However, a mortality benefit was not seen with ivermectin treatment before and after PSM (p values = 0.07 and 0.11, respectively). ICU admission, and intubation rate were not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.49, and p = 1.0, respectively). No differences were found between groups regarding the length of hospital stay, ICU admission, intubation rate, and in-hospital mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19; Ivermectin; efficacy; prospective study; safety profile.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Initial and peak oxygen requirement for ivermectin and control groups after propensity score matching. MV, mechanical ventilation; NRB, nonrebreather mask; NVM, noninvasive mechanical ventilation
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Median days of hospital stay\, intensive care unit (ICU), and duration of intubation by ivermectin and control groups (B) Rate of ICU admission and intubation by ivermectin and control groups (after propensity score matching)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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