Open AccessCombination of (interferon beta-1b, lopinavir/ritonavir and ribavirin) versus favipiravir in hospitalized patients with non-critical COVID-19: A cohort study
Author(s) -
Areej A Malhani,
Mushira Enani,
Fatemeh Saheb SharifAskari,
Mona R. Alghareeb,
Roaa T. Bin-Brikan,
Safar A. AlShahrani,
Rabih Halwani,
Imad M. Tleyjeh
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0252984
Subject(s) - lopinavir , medicine , ritonavir , ribavirin , lopinavir/ritonavir , favipiravir , hazard ratio , cohort study , proportional hazards model , cohort , gastroenterology , viral load , immunology , confidence interval , disease , covid-19 , virus , antiretroviral therapy , hepatitis c virus , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Objectives Our study aims at comparing the efficacy and safety of IFN-based therapy (lopinavir/ritonavir, ribavirin, and interferon β-1b) vs. favipiravir (FPV) in a cohort of hospitalized patients with non-critical COVID-19. Methods Single center observational study comparing IFN-based therapy (interferon β-1b, ribavirin, and lopinavir/ritonavir) vs. FPV in non-critical hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Allocation to either treatment group was non-random but based on changes to national treatment protocols rather than physicians’ selection (quasi-experimental). We examined the association between IFN-based therapy and 28-day mortality using Cox regression model with treatment as a time-dependent covariate. Results The study cohort included 222 patients, of whom 68 (28%) received IFN-based therapy. Antiviral therapy was started at a median of 5 days (3–6 days) from symptoms onset in the IFN group vs. 6 days (4–7 days) for the FPV group, P <0.0001. IFN-based therapy was associated with a lower 28-day mortality as compared to FPV (6 (9%) vs. 18 (12%)), adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] (95% Cl) = 0.27 (0.08–0.88)). No difference in hospitalization duration between the 2 groups, 9 (7–14) days vs. 9 (7–13) days, P = 0.732 was found. IFN treated group required less use of systemic corticosteroids (57%) as compared to FPV (77%), P = 0.005 after adjusting for disease severity and other confounders. Patients in the IFN treated group were more likely to have nausea and diarrhea as compared to FPV group (13%) vs. (3%), P = 0.013 and (18%) vs. (3%), P<0.0001, respectively. Conclusion Early IFN-based triple therapy was associated with lower 28-days mortality as compared to FPV.