Abstract
BACKGROUND Early treatment to prevent severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is an important component of the comprehensive response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. METHODS In this phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we used a 2-by-3 factorial design to test the effectiveness of three repurposed drugs - metformin, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine - in preventing serious SARS-CoV-2 infection in nonhospitalized adults who had been enrolled within 3 days after a confirmed diagnosis of infection and less than 7 days after the onset of symptoms. The patients were between the ages of 30 and 85 years, and all had either overweight or obesity. The primary composite end point was hypoxemia (≤93% oxygen saturation on home oximetry), emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death. All analyses used controls who had undergone concurrent randomization and were adjusted for SARSCoV-2 vaccination and receipt of other trial medications. RESULTS A total of 1431 patients underwent randomization; of these patients, 1323 were included in the primary analysis. The median age of the patients was 46 years; 56% were female (6% of whom were pregnant), and 52% had been vaccinated. The adjusted odds ratio for a primary event was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 1.09; P=0.19) with metformin, 1.05 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.45; P=0.78) with ivermectin, and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.66 to 1.36; P=0.75) with fluvoxamine. In prespecified secondary analyses, the adjusted odds ratio for emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.94) with metformin, 1.39 (95% CI, 0.72 to 2.69) with ivermectin, and 1.17 (95% CI, 0.57 to 2.40) with fluvoxamine. The adjusted odds ratio for hospitalization or death was 0.47 (95% CI, 0.20 to 1.11) with metformin, 0.73 (95% CI, 0.19 to 2.77) with ivermectin, and 1.11 (95% CI, 0.33 to 3.76) with fluvoxamine. CONCLUSIONS None of the three medications that were evaluated prevented the occurrence of hypoxemia, an emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death associated with Covid-19.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 599-610 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | New England Journal of Medicine |
| Volume | 387 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 18 2022 |
Funding
Supported by the Parsemus Foundation , Rainwater Charitable Foundation , Fast Grants , and UnitedHealth Group Foundation . The fluvoxamine placebo tablets were donated by Apotex Pharmaceuticals. The ivermectin placebo and active tablets were donated by Edenbridge Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Bramante was supported by grants (KL2TR002492 and UL1TR002494) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences ( NCATS ) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by a grant (K23 DK124654–01-A1) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH. Dr. Buse was supported by a grant (UL1TR002489) from NCATS . Dr. Nicklas was supported by a grant (K23HL133604) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH. Dr. Odde was supported by the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, the Medtronic Professorship for Engineering in Medicine, and by grants (U54 CA210190 and P01 CA254849) from the National Cancer Institute of the NIH. Dr. Murray was supported in part by the Medtronic Faculty Fellowship.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
