Open AccessHydrogen peroxide as an auxiliary treatment for COVID-19 in Brazil: a randomized double-blind clinical trial
Author(s) -
Marielle Bazzo Di Domênico,
Kauê Collares,
Renan Brandenburg dos Santos,
Ulysses Lenz,
Vinícius Picoli Antunes,
Vinicius Webber Godinho,
Henrique Cesca,
Thales Henrique Jincziwski Ponciano,
Pedro Henrique Corazza
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
epidemiology and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.109
H-Index - 19
ISSN - 2092-7193
DOI - 10.4178/epih.e2021051
Subject(s) - medicine , double blind , covid-19 , hydrogen peroxide , randomized controlled trial , clinical trial , virology , placebo , alternative medicine , pathology , outbreak , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , chemistry , organic chemistry
OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as mouthwash and nasal spray on symptom relief in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. METHODS Patients positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), who were treated in a hospital or at home, and patients’ family members (not positive for SARS-CoV-2), were randomized into 2 groups: experimental (1% H 2 O 2 for gargling, 0.5% H 2 O 2 for nasal wash), and control. Patients gargled the solution 3 times a day, and applied the nasal spray twice a day, for a 7-day period. Family members received the same treatment as the treated COVID-19 patient. The researchers contacted patients every 2 days over an 8-day period. An average post-treatment interval of 8 days passed before testing family members. RESULTS The most frequent symptoms on day 0 were cough, loss of taste, and hyposmia; there were no significant differences between groups, independent of the period. The symptom of dyspnea presented a significant difference between days 2 and 4 (p<0.05). Among family members, 86.0% had no antibodies, 2.3% had antibodies, and 11.6% had active infections (4 in the experimental group and 6 in the control group). The most frequent adverse effects in the H 2 O 2 group were a burning throat and nose. CONCLUSIONS H 2 O 2 was not effective for the relief of COVID-19 symptoms and was associated with reports of transient adverse effects.