Characteristics of COVID-19 and possibilities of early causal therapy. Results of favipiravir use in clinical practice
Authors:   Ogarev Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russian Federation, Balykova L.A. , Govorov A.V. ,   A.I.Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation, Vasilyev A.O. ,   A.I.Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation,   S.I.Spasokukotskiy Clinical Hospital, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russian Federation,   Research Institute of Health Care Organization and Medical Management, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russian Federation, Simakina E.N. ,   Smolensk Clinical Hospital No 1, Smolensk, Russian Federation,   Smolensk State Medical University, Smolensk, Russian Federation, Agafyina A.S. ,   City Hospital No 40, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Ivanova A.Yu. ,   I.P.Pavlov Ryazan State Medical University, Ryazan, Russian Federation, Zaslavskaya K.Ya. ,   Promomed DM LLC, Moscow, Russian Federation, Granovskaya M.V. ,   University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, Kolontarev K.B. ,   A.I.Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation,   S.I.Spasokukotskiy Clinical Hospital, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russian Federation, Pushkar D.Yu. ,   A.I.Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation,   S.I.Spasokukotskiy Clinical Hospital, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russian Federation
Published: December 2020

This paper provides the results of a study evaluating the efficacy and safety of etiotropic therapy in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objective. Тo evaluate the efficacy and safety of favipiravir (Areplivir) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and compare it with recommended standard therapy. Patients and methods. Two hundred men and women aged between 18 and 80 years with COVID-19 were randomized into this study. The experimental group included patients who received favipiravir, whereas the control group comprised patients who received causal therapy in accordance with the latest version of the temporary methodical recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Russia ‘Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus infection (COVID-19).’ The efficacy and safety of therapy were evaluated by assessing clinical improvement using the WHO Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement, clinical and laboratory parameters, findings of chest computed tomography (CT), and elimination of SARS-CoV-2. We also analyzed the frequency and type of adverse events, need for invasive and non-invasive ventilation, and death rates. Results. Our analysis has demonstrated significant benefits of favipiravir over standard therapy in terms of the time to clinical improvement (in the experimental group it was 4 days shorter on average), time to recovery, frequency of recovery after 10 days (44% of patients from the experimental group and 10% of patients from the control group had no clinical signs of the disease at this time-point), and frequency of virus elimination by day 10 of therapy. Treatment with favipiravir was associated with a significant improvement in the lung condition (according to CT), normalization of laboratory parameters, and saturation level. Favipiravir has demonstrated a good safety profile similar to that of standard therapy. There was no difference in the frequency of adverse events between the experimental and control groups. Conclusion. The use of favipiravir for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection reduced the time to clinical improvement by 4 days on average compared to standard therapy, ensured improvement of the lung condition (according to CT scans), and facilitated virus elimination in more than 90% of patients, thereby promoting faster recovery. Favipiravir had a good safety profile and was well tolerated by patients. This treatment regimen was shown to be effective, sufficient, and clinically reasonable to achieve good outcomes. Timely initiation of therapy with favipiravir (Areplivir) improves disease prognosis and reduces the global socioeconomic burden of the current pandemic. Key words: COVID-19, Areplivir, coronavirus, causal therapy, favipiravir