Nitazoxanide superiority to placebo to treat moderate COVID-19 – A Pilot prove of concept randomized double-blind clinical trial.
Vinicius Fontanesi Blum, Sérgio Cimerman, James Hunter, Paulo Fernando Guimarães Morando Marzocchi Tierno, Acioly L.T. Lacerda, Alexandre de Matos Soeiro, Florentino Cardoso, Nancy Bellei, Juliana Terzi Maricato, Nathalia Mantovani, Marcella Vassao, Danilo Dias, Juliana Galinskas, Luis Mário Ramos Janini, Joanna Reis Santos-Oliveira, Alda Maria Da‐Cruz, Ricardo Sobhie Diaz
Abstract
BackgroundThe absence of specific antivirals to treat COVID-19 leads to the repositioning of candidates’ drugs. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) has a broad antiviral effect.MethodsThis was a randomized, double-blind pilot clinical trial comparing NTZ 600 mg BID versus Placebo for seven days among 50 individuals (25 each arm) with SARS-COV-2 RT-PCR+ (PCR) that were hospitalized with mild respiratory insufficiency from May 20th, 2020, to September 21st, 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04348409). Clinical and virologic endpoints and inflammatory biomarkers were evaluated. A five-point scale for disease severity (SSD) was used.FindingsTwo patients died in the NTZ arm compared to 6 in the placebo arm (p = 0.564). NTZ was superior to placebo when considering SSD (p < 0001), the mean time for hospital discharge (6.6 vs. 14 days, p = 0.021), and negative PCR at day 21 (p = 0.035), whereas the placebo group presented more adverse events (p = 0.04). Among adverse events likely related to the study drug, 14 were detected in the NTZ group and 22 in placebo (p = 0.24). Among the 30 adverse events unlikely related, 21 occurred in the placebo group (p = 0.04). A decrease from baseline was higher in the NTZ group for d-Dimer (p = 0.001), US-RCP (p < 0.002), TNF (p < 0.038), IL-6 (p < 0.001), IL-8 (p = 0.014), HLA DR. on CD4+ T lymphocytes (p < 0.05), CD38 in CD4+ and CD8+ T (both p < 0.05), and CD38 and HLA-DR. on CD4+ (p < 0.01)InterpretationCompared to placebo in clinical and virologic outcomes and improvement of inflammatory outcomes, the superiority of NTZ warrants further investigation of this drug for moderate COVID-19 in larger clinical trials. A higher incidence of adverse events in the placebo arm might be attributed to COVID-19 related symptoms.