The next weapon in the arsenal against COVID-19 could be a low-cost, easy-to-take pill.
A 10-day prescription of the antidepressant fluvoxamine reduced hospitalizations by two-thirds and deaths by 9% in newly infected COVID-19 patients at high risk of complications, according to researchers who published their findings in the Lancet Global Health on Oct. 27.
The drug, which was used to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, was put to the test since it was known to lower inflammation and had shown promise in small studies.
"If WHO recommends this, you will see it widely taken up," study co-author Edward Mills of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said, adding that many poor nations have the drug readily available.
A course of COVID-19 treatment with Fluvoxamine would cost $4. In comparison, antibody IV therapies cost around $2,000, and Merck's experimental COVID-19 antiviral tablet costs around $700 per course. Some experts believe that various treatments will eventually be used alongside to combat the coronavirus.
Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, collaborated with Cardresearch, a Brazilian research clinic, to recruit 1,497 unvaccinated, high-risk persons in the first week of flu-like symptoms from COVID-19 for the new study.
Between January and August, patients at 11 clinical sites across Brazil enrolled in the study and were given either 100 milligrams of fluvoxamine or placebo pills twice a day for 10 days. After treatment, the subjects were observed for another 28 days by the researchers.
In the placebo group, 119 of 756 patients, or 15.7%, suffered problems that necessitated hospitalization or more than six hours of emergency treatment. In comparison, 79 out of 741 fluvoxamine-treated individuals, or 10.7%, got that sick. The trial discovered that using fluvoxamine reduced emergency visits and hospitalization by 32%.
The benefits were even stronger among patients who took at least 80% of their doses. About three-quarters of patients fell into this category, with gastrointestinal issues being the most common reason for stopping the medication. Fluvoxamine reduced major complications by 66 percent and mortality by 91 percent in that group. Twelve patients died in the placebo group, compared to one in the group that received the drug.
Researchers believe fluvoxamine should be administered in COVID-19 for patients at high risk of morbidity and mortality from infection complications, based on the most recent findings and its long-standing safety record.
