Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 May;94(5):2102-2107.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.27595. Epub 2022 Jan 23.

Efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Shao-Huan Lan  1 , Hong-Zin Lee  2 , Chien-Ming Chao  3 , Shen-Peng Chang  4 , Li-Chin Lu  5 , Chih-Cheng Lai  6
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Shao-Huan Lan et al. J Med Virol. 2022 May.

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of melatonin on clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We searched PubMed, the Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, and Clinicaltrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before September 11, 2021. Only RCTs that compared the clinical efficacy of melatonin with a placebo in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 were included. The primary outcome measure was the clinical recovery rate. We included three RCTs in this meta-analysis. Melatonin 3 mg three times daily was administered in one RCT, and 3 or 6 mg daily before bedtime in the other two trials. Treatment duration was 14 days in two RCTs and 7 days in one trial. The clinical recovery rates were 94.2% (81/86) and 82.4% (70/85) in the melatonin and control groups, respectively. Overall, patients receiving melatonin had a higher clinical recovery rate than did the controls (odds ratio [OR]: 3.67; 95% CI: 1.21-11.12; I2 = 0%, p = 0.02). The risk of intensive care unit admission was numerically lower in the melatonin group than in the control group (8.3% [6/72] vs. 17.6% [12/68], OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.16-1.25; I2 = 0%, p = 0.13), and the risk of mortality was numerically lower in the melatonin group than in the control group (1.4% [1/72] vs. 4.4% [3/68], OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.03-3.18; I2 = 0%, p = 0.33). In conclusion, melatonin may help improve the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; melatonin; outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study identification and eligibility assessment processes
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the risk‐of‐bias assessment
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot showing the effect of melatonin compared with the control on the clinical recovery rate
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. WHO. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://covid19.who.int/
    1. Lai CC, Chao CM, Hsueh PR. Clinical efficacy of antiviral agents against coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2021;54(5):767‐775. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shankar‐Hari M, Vale CL, Godolphin PJ, et al. Association between administration of IL‐6 antagonists and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID‐19: a meta‐analysis. JAMA. 2021;326(6):499‐518. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sterne JAC, Murthy S, Diaz JV, et al. Association between administration of systemic corticosteroids and mortality among critically ill patients with COVID‐19: a meta‐analysis. JAMA. 2020;324(13):1330‐1341. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lai CC, Chen CH, Wang CY, Chen KH, Wang YH, Hsueh PR. Clinical efficacy and safety of remdesivir in patients with COVID‐19: a systematic review and network meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2021;76(8):1962‐1968. - PMC - PubMed