The World Health Organization has recommended mortality trials for four repurposed antiviral drugs: remdesivir, lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, and interferon beta-1a. However, the efficacy of all these drugs alongside each other has not been tested. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the four repurposed drugs recommended by the WHO for COVID-19.
This randomized trial included a total of 11,330 adults from 30 countries and 45 hospitals. The eligible patients had confirmed COVID-19. The patients were randomly assigned to receive remdesivir, lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, and interferon beta-1a. The primary outcome of the study was the rate ratios for death for each group.
A total of 1,253 deaths were reported during the trial. The overall 28-day mortality rate mortality was 11.8%, as measured by the Kaplan–Meier scale. Deaths were reported in 301/2,743 patients in the remdesivir group, 104/947 in the hydroxychloroquine group, 148/1,399 in the lopinavir group, and 243/2,050 in the interferon group. Reduced mortality was not indicated in any group, with the same case being for reduced initiation or ventilation of hospitalization duration.
The research concluded that treatment for COVID-19 with remdesivir, lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, and interferon had no significant effect on the overall mortality, initiation of ventilation, and duration of hospital stay.
Ref: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2023184
