Reference no: EM133848101

Question

The aim of this study was to study the effectiveness of Remdesivir, a nucleoside analogue prodrug, as a specific antiviral drug that can be used effectively for the treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial conducted at at ten hospitals in Hubei, China. Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an interval from symptom onset to enrolment of 12 days or less, oxygen saturation of 94% or less on room air or a ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less, and radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to intravenous remdesivir (200 mg on day 1 followed by 100 mg on days 2-10 in single daily infusions) or the same volume of placebo infusions for 10 days. The results of the study yielded that Remdesivir use was not associated with a difference in time to clinical improvement. Although not statistically significant, patients receiving remdesivir had a numerically faster time to clinical improvement than those receiving placebo among patients with symptom duration of 10 days or less. The researchers hence concluded that Remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits among adult patients admitted to hospital for severe COVID-19.