Title: A five-day course of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 may reduce the duration of illness - PubMed URL Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/ Markdown Content: Randomized Controlled Trial Actions . 2021 Feb:103:214-216. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.11.191. Epub 2020 Dec 2. [Mohammad Mahbubul Karim](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Karim+MM&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Allen G Ross](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Ross+AG&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Mohammad Sharif Hossain](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Hossain+MS&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[John D Clemens](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Clemens+JD&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Mariya Kibtiya Sumiya](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Sumiya+MK&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Ching Swe Phru](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Phru+CS&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Mustafizur Rahman](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Rahman+M&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Khalequ Zaman](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Zaman+K&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Jyoti Somani](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Somani+J&cauthor_id=33278625)[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-2 "Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore."),[Rubina Yasmin](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Yasmin+R&cauthor_id=33278625)[3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-3 "Mugda Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Mohammad Abul Hasnat](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Hasnat+MA&cauthor_id=33278625)[4](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-4 "Kurmitola General Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Ahmedul Kabir](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Kabir+A&cauthor_id=33278625)[5](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-5 "Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Asma Binte Aziz](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Aziz+AB&cauthor_id=33278625)[1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-1 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh."),[Wasif Ali Khan](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Khan+WA&cauthor_id=33278625)[6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/#full-view-affiliation-6 "International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Electronic address: wakhan@icddrb.org.") Affiliations * PMID: **33278625** * PMCID: [PMC7709596](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7709596/) * DOI: [10.1016/j.ijid.2020.11.191](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.11.191) Randomized Controlled Trial ## A five-day course of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 may reduce the duration of illness Sabeena Ahmed et al. Int J Infect Dis.2021 Feb. ## Abstract Ivermectin, a US Food and Drug Administration-approved anti-parasitic agent, was found to inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in vitro. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to determine the rapidity of viral clearance and safety of ivermectin among adult SARS-CoV-2 patients. The trial included 72 hospitalized patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who were assigned to one of three groups: oral ivermectin alone (12 mg once daily for 5 days), oral ivermectin in combination with doxycycline (12 mg ivermectin single dose and 200 mg doxycycline on day 1, followed by 100 mg every 12 h for the next 4 days), and a placebo control group. Clinical symptoms of fever, cough, and sore throat were comparable among the three groups. Virological clearance was earlier in the 5-day ivermectin treatment arm when compared to the placebo group (9.7 days vs 12.7 days; p = 0.02), but this was not the case for the ivermectin + doxycycline arm (11.5 days; p = 0.27). There were no severe adverse drug events recorded in the study. A 5-day course of ivermectin was found to be safe and effective in treating adult patients with mild COVID-19. Larger trials will be needed to confirm these preliminary findings. **Keywords:** Bangladesh; COVID-19; Doxycycline; Ivermectin; SARS-CoV-2. Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved. [PubMed Disclaimer](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/) ## Conflict of interest statement The authors declare that there are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work described in this paper. ## Figures [![Image 1: Figure 1](https://cdn.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/blobs/9a01/7709596/22ae90f8ed30/gr1_lrg.gif)](https://cdn.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/blobs/9a01/7709596/56a8430f176b/gr1_lrg.jpg) **Figure 1** Cumulative viral recovery estimates in the overall study population. ## Comment in * [Antiviral Effects of Ivermectin in COVID-19- Clinically Plausible?](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34175482/) Shukla DAK, Misra DS.Shukla DAK, et al.Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Aug;109:91. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.048. Epub 2021 Jun 24.Int J Infect Dis. 2021.PMID: 34175482 Free PMC article.No abstract available. ## Similar articles * [Safety and Efficacy of Imatinib for Hospitalized Adults with COVID-19: A structured summary of a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33115543/) Emadi A, Chua JV, Talwani R, Bentzen SM, Baddley J.Emadi A, et al.Trials. 2020 Oct 28;21(1):897. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04819-9.Trials. 2020.PMID: 33115543 Free PMC article. * [Efficacy and safety of oral ivermectin in the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients: a multi-centre double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39039459/) Wijewickrema A, Banneheke H, Pathmeswaran A, Refai FW, Kauranaratne M, Malavige N, Jeewandara C, Ekanayake M, Samaraweera D, Thambavita D, Galappatthy P.Wijewickrema A, et al.BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 22;24(1):719. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09563-y.BMC Infect Dis. 2024.PMID: 39039459 Free PMC article.Clinical Trial. * [Role of ivermectin in patients hospitalized with COVID-19: a systematic review of literature.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34494244/) Chaudhry MW, Zubair SM, Zubairi ABS, Irfan M.Chaudhry MW, et al.Adv Respir Med. 2021;89(4):413-418. doi: 10.5603/ARM.a2021.0088.Adv Respir Med. 2021.PMID: 34494244 * [Potential use of ivermectin for the treatment and prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34418758/) Cobos-Campos R, Apiñaniz A, Parraza N, Cordero J, García S, Orruño E.Cobos-Campos R, et al.Curr Res Transl Med. 2021 Oct;69(4):103309. doi: 10.1016/j.retram.2021.103309. Epub 2021 Aug 11.Curr Res Transl Med. 2021.PMID: 34418758 Free PMC article.Review. ## Cited by * [Clinical study evaluating the efficacy of ivermectin in COVID-19 treatment: A randomized controlled study.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34076901/) Abd-Elsalam S, Noor RA, Badawi R, Khalaf M, Esmail ES, Soliman S, Abd El Ghafar MS, Elbahnasawy M, Moustafa EF, Hassany SM, Medhat MA, Ramadan HK, Eldeen MAS, Alboraie M, Cordie A, Esmat G.Abd-Elsalam S, et al.J Med Virol. 2021 Oct;93(10):5833-5838. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27122. Epub 2021 Jun 7.J Med Virol. 2021.PMID: 34076901 Free PMC article.Clinical Trial. * [Care for adults with COVID-19: living guidelines from the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36150213/) White H, McDonald SJ, Barber B, Davis J, Burr L, Nair P, Mukherjee S, Tendal B, Elliott J, McGloughlin S, Turner T.White H, et al.Med J Aust. 2022 Oct 3;217(7):368-378. doi: 10.5694/mja2.51718.Med J Aust. 2022.PMID: 36150213 Free PMC article. * [Repurposing Ivermectin for COVID-19: Molecular Aspects and Therapeutic Possibilities.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33859652/) Wehbe Z, Wehbe M, Iratni R, Pintus G, Zaraket H, Yassine HM, Eid AH.Wehbe Z, et al.Front Immunol. 2021 Mar 30;12:663586. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.663586. eCollection 2021.Front Immunol. 2021.PMID: 33859652 Free PMC article.Review. * [An Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial of Ivermectin Plus Favipiravir-Based Standard of Care _versus_ Favipiravir-Based Standard of Care for Treatment of Moderate COVID-19 in Thailand.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36603821/) Sarojvisut P, Apisarnthanarak A, Jantarathaneewat K, Sathitakorn O, Pienthong T, Mingmalairak C, Warren DK, Weber DJ.Sarojvisut P, et al.Infect Chemother. 2023 Mar;55(1):50-58. doi: 10.3947/ic.2022.0127. Epub 2022 Dec 12.Infect Chemother. 2023.PMID: 36603821 Free PMC article. * [Moxidectin and Ivermectin Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Vero E6 Cells but Not in Human Primary Bronchial Epithelial Cells.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34633839/) Dinesh Kumar N, Ter Ellen BM, Bouma EM, Troost B, van de Pol DPI, van der Ende-Metselaar HH, van Gosliga D, Apperloo L, Carpaij OA, van den Berge M, Nawijn MC, Stienstra Y, Rodenhuis-Zybert IA, Smit JM.Dinesh Kumar N, et al.Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2022 Jan 18;66(1):e0154321. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01543-21. Epub 2021 Oct 11.Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2022.PMID: 34633839 Free PMC article. ## References 1. 1. Alam M.T., Murshed R., Bhiuyan E., Saber S., Alam R., Robin R. A Case Series of 100 COVID-19 Positive Patients Treated with Combination of Ivermectin and Doxycycline. J Bangladesh Coll Physic Surg. 2020;38:10–15. doi: 10.3329/jbcps.v38i0.47512. - [DOI](https://doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v38i0.47512) 2. 1. 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