The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study
Background. An in-silico screen identified mebendazole with potential antiviral activity that could be a repurposed drug against SARS-CoV-2. Mebendazole is a well-tolerated and cheap antihelminthic agent that is readily available worldwide and thus could be a therapeutic tool in the fight against CO...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Virology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/3014686 |
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| author | Mostafa W. Galal Mahmoud Ahmed Yanqiu Shao Chao Xing Wael Ali Abd Elhamid Baly Abdallah Elfiky Khaled Amer John Schoggins Hesham A. Sadek Zeinab N. Gobara |
| author_facet | Mostafa W. Galal Mahmoud Ahmed Yanqiu Shao Chao Xing Wael Ali Abd Elhamid Baly Abdallah Elfiky Khaled Amer John Schoggins Hesham A. Sadek Zeinab N. Gobara |
| author_sort | Mostafa W. Galal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. An in-silico screen identified mebendazole with potential antiviral activity that could be a repurposed drug against SARS-CoV-2. Mebendazole is a well-tolerated and cheap antihelminthic agent that is readily available worldwide and thus could be a therapeutic tool in the fight against COVID-19. Methods. This is an observational retrospective study of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients who received mebendazole with the intention-to-treat. The study included an inpatient cohort (157 inpatients) and an outpatient cohort (185 outpatients). Of the 157 inpatients and 185 outpatients, 68 (43.3%) and 94 (50.8%) received mebendazole, respectively. Patients who presented within the same timeframe but did not receive mebendazole were used as controls. Patients received standard-of-care treatment including remdesivir, dexamethasone, and anticoagulants as deemed necessary by the treating physician. The following clinical outcomes were evaluated: for the inpatient cohort, length of stay (LOS) at the hospital, need for ventilation (combined invasive and noninvasive), and mortality; for the outpatient cohort, time to symptom resolution, need for hospitalization, and mortality. Results. For the inpatient cohort, the median age did not differ between the treatment and control groups; 62 (56, 67) vs. 62 (56, 68), P, and there was a comparable proportion of males in both groups; 43 (63%) vs. 55 (62%), P=0.85. The hospital LOS was 3.5 days shorter in the treatment group compared to the control group (P<0.001). There were fewer patients who required invasive or noninvasive ventilation in the treatment group, 2 (2.9%) vs. 7 (7.9%), and the mortality rate is lower in the treatment group, 3 (4.4%) vs. 8 (9.0%), though the differences did not reach statistical significance. For the outpatient cohort, the median age was lower in the treatment group compared with the control group; 40 (34, 48) vs. 48 (41, 54), P<0.001. There was a comparable proportion of males between both groups; 50 (53%) vs. 52 (57%), P=0.59. Patients in the treatment group were 3.3 days closer to symptom resolution (P<0.001). There were numerically fewer patients requiring hospitalization in the treatment group compared with the control group, 3 (3.2%) vs. 6 (6.6%), though this did not reach statistical significance (P=0.33). Conclusion. In this retrospective observational study, the use of mebendazole in COVID-19 patients was associated with shorter hospitalizations in the inpatient cohort and shorter durations of symptom resolution in the outpatient cohort. The findings from this small observational study are hypothesis-generating and preclude drawing conclusions about clinical efficacy. Further studies are needed to examine the role of mebendazole in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5bf3e47fd7564dd8a6698a48ab0428b7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-8647 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Advances in Virology |
| spelling | doaj-art-5bf3e47fd7564dd8a6698a48ab0428b72025-02-03T05:57:26ZengWileyAdvances in Virology1687-86472022-01-01202210.1155/2022/3014686The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center StudyMostafa W. Galal0Mahmoud Ahmed1Yanqiu Shao2Chao Xing3Wael Ali4Abd Elhamid Baly5Abdallah Elfiky6Khaled Amer7John Schoggins8Hesham A. Sadek9Zeinab N. Gobara10School of MedicineDepartment of Internal Medicine CardiologyDepartment of Statistical ScienceDepartment of Population and Data SciencesEgyptian Center for Research in Regenerative MedicineDepartment of Clinical PathologyDepartment of RadiologyDepartment of BiochemistryEpartments MicrobiologyDepartments Biophysics and Molecular Biology and Center for Regenerative Science and MedicineDepartment of Clinical PathologyBackground. An in-silico screen identified mebendazole with potential antiviral activity that could be a repurposed drug against SARS-CoV-2. Mebendazole is a well-tolerated and cheap antihelminthic agent that is readily available worldwide and thus could be a therapeutic tool in the fight against COVID-19. Methods. This is an observational retrospective study of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients who received mebendazole with the intention-to-treat. The study included an inpatient cohort (157 inpatients) and an outpatient cohort (185 outpatients). Of the 157 inpatients and 185 outpatients, 68 (43.3%) and 94 (50.8%) received mebendazole, respectively. Patients who presented within the same timeframe but did not receive mebendazole were used as controls. Patients received standard-of-care treatment including remdesivir, dexamethasone, and anticoagulants as deemed necessary by the treating physician. The following clinical outcomes were evaluated: for the inpatient cohort, length of stay (LOS) at the hospital, need for ventilation (combined invasive and noninvasive), and mortality; for the outpatient cohort, time to symptom resolution, need for hospitalization, and mortality. Results. For the inpatient cohort, the median age did not differ between the treatment and control groups; 62 (56, 67) vs. 62 (56, 68), P, and there was a comparable proportion of males in both groups; 43 (63%) vs. 55 (62%), P=0.85. The hospital LOS was 3.5 days shorter in the treatment group compared to the control group (P<0.001). There were fewer patients who required invasive or noninvasive ventilation in the treatment group, 2 (2.9%) vs. 7 (7.9%), and the mortality rate is lower in the treatment group, 3 (4.4%) vs. 8 (9.0%), though the differences did not reach statistical significance. For the outpatient cohort, the median age was lower in the treatment group compared with the control group; 40 (34, 48) vs. 48 (41, 54), P<0.001. There was a comparable proportion of males between both groups; 50 (53%) vs. 52 (57%), P=0.59. Patients in the treatment group were 3.3 days closer to symptom resolution (P<0.001). There were numerically fewer patients requiring hospitalization in the treatment group compared with the control group, 3 (3.2%) vs. 6 (6.6%), though this did not reach statistical significance (P=0.33). Conclusion. In this retrospective observational study, the use of mebendazole in COVID-19 patients was associated with shorter hospitalizations in the inpatient cohort and shorter durations of symptom resolution in the outpatient cohort. The findings from this small observational study are hypothesis-generating and preclude drawing conclusions about clinical efficacy. Further studies are needed to examine the role of mebendazole in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/3014686 |
| spellingShingle | Mostafa W. Galal Mahmoud Ahmed Yanqiu Shao Chao Xing Wael Ali Abd Elhamid Baly Abdallah Elfiky Khaled Amer John Schoggins Hesham A. Sadek Zeinab N. Gobara The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study Advances in Virology |
| title | The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study |
| title_full | The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study |
| title_fullStr | The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study |
| title_short | The Use of Mebendazole in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Retrospective Single Center Study |
| title_sort | use of mebendazole in covid 19 patients an observational retrospective single center study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/3014686 |
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