Arbidol monotherapy is superior to lopinavir/ritonavir in treating COVID-19. Issue 1 (July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhu, Zhen; Lu, Zhaohui; Xu, Tianmin; Chen, Cong; Yang, Gang; Zha, Tao; Lu, Jianchun; Xue, Yuan
• Is Part Of: Journal of infection. Volume 81:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: e21
• Page End: e23
• Publication Date: 2020-07
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- SARS-CoV2 -- Ct value -- Antiviral therapy -- Pneumonia; Infection -- Periodicals; Bacterial Infections -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-4453

Abstract

Highlights: On day 14 after the admission, no viral load was detected in arbidol group. 44.1% of patients in lopinavir/ritonavir group had positive RNA test on day 14. Patients in the arbidol group had a shorter duration of positive RNA test. No apparent side effects were found in both groups. Arbidol monotherapy may be superior to lopinavir/ritonavir in treating COVID-19. Abstract: Lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol have been previously used to treat acute respiratory syndrome- coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in clinical practice; nevertheless, their effectiveness remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral effects and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol in patients with the 2019-nCoV disease (COVID-19). Fifty patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were divided into two groups: including lopinavir/ritonavir group (34 cases) and arbidol group (16 cases). Lopinavir/ritonavir group received 400 mg/100mg of Lopinavir/ritonavir, twice a day for a week, while the arbidol group was given 0.2 g arbidol, three times a day. Data from these patients were retrospectively analyzed. The cycle threshold values of open reading frame 1ab and nucleocapsid genes by RT-PCR assay were monitored during antiviral therapy. None of the patients developed severe pneumonia or ARDS. There was no difference in fever duration between the two groups ( P =0.61). On day 14 after the admission, no viral load was detected in arbidol group, but the viral load was found in 15(44.1%) patients treated with lopinavir/ritonavir. Patients in the arbidol group had a shorter duration of positive RNA test compared to those in the lopinavir/ritonavir group ( P <0.01). Moreover, no apparent side effects were found in both groups. In conclusion, our data indicate that arbidol monotherapy may be superior to lopinavir/ritonavir in treating COVID-19.