Therapeutic potential of ivermectin as add on treatment in COVID 19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ivermectin in COVID-19: A meta-analysis

Authors

  • Biswa Mohan Padhy All India Institute of Medical sciences, Bhubaneswar
  • Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty Additional Professor
  • Smita Das IMS & SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar
  • Bikash Ranjan Meher All India Institute of Medical sciences, Bhubaneswar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18433/jpps31457

Abstract

The current management of COVID-19 is mostly limited to general supportive care and symptomatic treatment. Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug used widely for the treatment of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Apart from its anti-parasitic effect it also exhibits antiviral activity against a number of viruses both in vitro and in vivo. Hence, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the currently available data on the therapeutic potential of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID‐19 as add on therapy. A total of 629 patients were included in the 4 studies and all were COVID-19 RT-PCR positive. Among them, 397 patients received ivermectin along with usual therapy. The random effect model showed the overall pooled OR to be 0.53 (95%CI: 0.29 to0.96) for the primary outcome (all-cause mortality) which was statistically significant (P=0.04). Similarly, the random effect model revealed that adding ivermectin led to significant clinical improvement compared to usual therapy (OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.11 to 3.53, P=0.02).  However, this should be inferred cautiously as the quality of evidence is very low. Currently, many clinical trials are on-going, and definitive evidence for repurposing this drug for COVID-19 patients will emerge only in the future.

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Author Biographies

Biswa Mohan Padhy, All India Institute of Medical sciences, Bhubaneswar

Additional Professor

Pharmacology

Smita Das, IMS & SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar

Assistant Professor

Pharmacology

Bikash Ranjan Meher, All India Institute of Medical sciences, Bhubaneswar

Associate Professor

Pharmacology

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Published

2020-11-23

How to Cite

Padhy, B. M., Mohanty, R. R., Das, S., & Meher, B. R. (2020). Therapeutic potential of ivermectin as add on treatment in COVID 19: A systematic review and meta-analysis: Ivermectin in COVID-19: A meta-analysis. Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 23, 462–469. https://doi.org/10.18433/jpps31457

Issue

Section

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis