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Lopinavir/ritonavir for Treatment of Non-Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial


AUTHORS

Kaizer AM , Shapiro NI , Wild J , Brown SM , Cwik BJ , Hart KW , Jones AE , Pulia MS , Self WH , Smith C , Smith SA , Ng PC , Thompson BT , Rice TW , Lindsell CJ , Ginde AA , . International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. 2022 12 26; ().

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Effective and widely available therapies are still needed for outpatients with COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir for early treatment of non-hospitalized individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.

METHODS: This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multi-site decentralized clinical trial enrolled non-hospitalized adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and six or fewer days of acute respiratory infection symptoms who were randomized to either twice daily oral lopinavir/ritonavir (400 mg/100 mg) or placebo for 14 days. Daily surveys on study days 1 through 16 and again on study day 28 evaluated symptoms, daily activities, and hospitalization status. The primary outcome was longitudinal change in an ordinal scale based on combination of symptoms, activity, and hospitalization status through Day 15 and was analyzed by use of a Bayesian longitudinal proportional odds logistic regression model for estimating the probability of a superior recovery for lopinavir/ritonavir over placebo (odds ratio [OR]>1).

RESULTS: Between June 2020 and December 2021, 448 participants were randomized to receive either lopinavir/ritonavir (n=216) or placebo (n=221). The mean symptom duration prior to randomization was 4.3 days [SD 1.3]. There were no differences between treatment groups through the first 15 days for the ordinal primary outcome (OR 0.96; 95% CrI: 0.66 to 1.41). There were 3.2% (n=7) of lopinavir/ritonavir and 2.7% (n=6) of placebo participants hospitalized by day 28. Serious adverse events did not differ between groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Lopinavir/ritonavir did not significantly improve symptom resolution or reduce hospitalization in non-hospitalized participants with COVID-19.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04372628.



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