Introduction: After emerging the global pandemic of SARS-CoV2 some preliminary studies demonstrated the efficacy of antiviral treatments. But shortly thereafter, inconsistencies in the results of further clinical trials raised doubts on the efficacy of these agents. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of Remdesivir on hospitalized COVID-19 patients’ outcomes. Material and methods: This study was an open-label, single-armed, clinical trial on hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who had progressive respiratory symptoms despite receiving standard care. All patients received Remdesivir and their characteristics, outcomes, time of treatment initiation, and respiratory support stages during hospitalization were registered and followed up for 14 days. Results: 145 patients with the mean age of 52.89 ± 1.12 years enrolled in this study, 38 (26.2%) died at the end of 14 days period. The mean time interval from the onset of the symptoms to antiviral treatment was 10.63±0.56 days. Thirty deceased patients (78.9%) were men, showing 2.8 times higher mortality chance compared to women (ORadj=2.77; 95%CI=1.08-7.09). The type of respiratory support on the first day of treatment initiation showed a significantly lower mortality chance in patients receiving O2 only than those who needed non-invasive and/or mechanical ventilation (ORadj=3.91; 95%CI=1.64-9.32). The start time (early vs late administration) and duration (less or more than 7 days) of antiviral treatment had no statistically significant association with mortality or ventilation escalation among the patients (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, we showed that Remdesivir probably is not effective on the outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Introduction and Objectives: After successful treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), the stage of liver fibrosis decreases by time. Here, we aimed to assess the changes in liver fibrosis stage using transient elastography (TE) after successful DAA therapy in HCV-infected cirrhotic patients who referred to Shariati hospital from 2016 to 2017. Material and Methods: In this observational cohort, all HCV-infected cirrhotic patients who were treated with a combination of sofosbuvir/daclatasvir and had achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) and also had undergone pre- and post-treatment TE, were enrolled. The primary outcome was the changes in TE parameters six months after the end of treatment compared to baseline. Results: A total of 442 eligible subjects received DAA therapy. Overall, the SVR rate was 96.6%. Of these, 149 patients had completed the protocol and were enrolled. The mean age of patients was 56.1±10.3 years and the predominant sex was male (77.9%). The median (Q1-Q3) liver stiffness (LS) value at baseline was 26.3 kPa (18.1-38 kPa), which significantly decreased to 20.9 kPa (12-29.7 kPa) [z = -8.45, p-value < 0.001]. Also, the liver steatosis of patients with baseline CAP ≥ 220 dB/m had a significant response to treatment [z = -2.3, p-value = 0.023]. Based on multivariate analysis, a higher baseline liver fibrosis stage was the only determinant of LS values improvement in our study. Conclusion: Successful HCV eradication in patients with liver fibrosis results in significant improvement in LS, even in cirrhotic patients.