Centers, Patients and Definitions
We hereafter will describe centers according to the treatment protocol
instead of the center name. Specifically, the center administering
lopinavir plus doxycycline is referred to as “Lop/Dox,” and that
administering a range of treatment protocols approved by the Health
Ministry is referred to as “Others.”
Cases were patients >18 years old who were hospitalized and
found positive for the novel SARS-CoV-2 RNA following nasopharyngeal
swab testing using RT-PCR. The Lop/Dox cohort consisted of moderate to
severe patients, since mild patients were home isolated with a different
treatment protocol. The Others cohort included more mild cases, as well
as moderate to severe cases.
Study covariates included age (years), gender, lymphocyte count, white
blood cell count, body temperature (°C) at admission, O2saturation (%) at admission, respiration rate per minute at admission,
the elapsed time between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization,
history of hypertension, and ACE inhibitors usage. The study outcome
measures are described below. We extracted all data from medical
records.
FPV 600 mg, HCQ 200 mg, LPV 200 mg, and doxycycline 100 mg, all were
administered twice daily via the PO route. Azithromycin was administered
250 mg PO once daily. For FVP, HCQ and azithromycin loading doses were
given on the first day.
We analyzed the need for intubation as the primary outcome and
in-hospital mortality as a secondary outcome. The need for intubation
seems to be a more sensitive measure to compare the efficacy of the two
antiviral drugs in this setting. This is because, following the
intubation, patients are transferred to the ICU; hence, new modalities
and risks appear.