Common antidepressant can cut COVID-19 hospitalization by up to 30 per cent: study
CTV
The inexpensive and well-known drug fluvoxamine can save the lives of COVID-19 patients and cut hospital admissions by up to 30 per cent, according to a new study.
The study, co-led by researchers at McMaster University and published Wednesday in The Lancet, treated 741 randomly selected Brazilian COVID-19 patients with fluvoxamine, and another 756 with a placebo. All of the patients were treated from Jan. 15 to Aug. 6 of 2021, and were monitored for 28 days. All of the patients were unvaccinated.
Fluvoxamine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant that is used to treat mental health conditions such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Out of the participants who received fluvoxamine, 10.6 per cent (79) required treatment by a doctor for more than six hours or were hospitalized. By comparison, 15.7 per cent (119) of the participants who received placebos were hospitalized or needed physician treatment for more than six hours. When patients took all of their drugs, the noted beneficial effect went up to 65 per cent, the study found.
Dr. Edward Mills, the co-principal investigator of the trial, said the results could be a potential game-changer, particularly in developing countries with low vaccination rates.
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