Study design
We conducted a retrospective study comparing two cohorts. One cohort strictly adhered to a treatment protocol (LPV plus doxycycline) while the other cohort applied protocols recommended by the scientific committee of the Turkish Heath Ministry. This study included patients diagnosed with COVID-19 induced pneumonia from March 21 to Apr 23, 2020, at two university hospitals located on distinct sides of the Istanbul province in Turkey.
The ethics committee of the Istanbul Medipol University and the Health Ministry COVID-19 Research Committee of Turkey approved this study (No: 10840098-604.01.01-E.14713). Ethics committee waived obtaining informed consent.