Comparative therapeutic efficacy of interferon and combination Kaletra
plus interferon alpha-2b against SARS-CoV-2
Abstract
Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) posed an
enormous threat to public health. The use of antiviral drugs in patients
with this disease have triggered people’s attentions. Whether interferon
alfa-2b or Kaletra plus interferon alfa-2b treatment can against
SARS-CoV-2 was unknown. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of
123 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients between Jan.13 2020 and Apr.
23. All patients received standard supportive care and regular clinical
monitoring, patients were assigned to standard care group (n=12),
interferon alfa-2b group (n=44), and combination Kaletra plus interferon
alfa-2b group (n=67) according to their therapies. The primary endpoint
was the duration of oxygen-support requirement and virus clearance time.
The associations of therapies with these outcomes were assessed by Cox
proportional hazards regression. Results: Baseline clinical
characteristics were similar among 3 groups (p>0.05). There was no
significant associations of Kaletra /interferon alfa-2b with faster
SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance (HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.45–1.61]; P = 0.61
in interferon alfa-2b group vs HR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.32–1.11]; P =
0.10 in Kaletra plus interferon alfa-2b group). The duration of
oxygen-support requirement in therapy groups similarly showed no
significant associations. There were no differences among 3 groups in
the incidence of adverse events (p>0.05). Conclusions: In patients with
confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, no benefit was observed with interferon
alfa-2b and Kaletra plus interferon alfa-2b treatment beyond standard
care. Further trials in appropriately randomized design may contribute
to validate the effective role and safety profile of the test drugs.