A STUDY OF FAVIPIRAVIR IN HOSPITALIZED COVID-19 PATIENTS, EXPERIENCE FROM A SINGLE TERTIARY CARE CENTRE

Background: Various therapeutic modalities are under evaluation for the COVID-19 pandemic which has gripped the world, India being badly affected. Favipiravir is one of the newer antivirals approved by DCGI for use in COVID-19 pneumonia in June 2020. Our study aims to evaluate its efficacy and safety profile. Methods: Ours is a retrospective observational study involving patients given favipiravir as per protocol in June. A historical cohort of patients admitted in April through May was used for comparison. Results: A total of 69 patients were studied in the favipiravir arm as compared to 400 in the Standard of Care group. 65 (94.20%) patients given favipiravir tested negative by the 10th day whereas in the SOC group, 224 (56%)patients out of 400 tested negative. 17 (24.64%) patients given favipiravir were on oxygen support which reduced to 0 (0%) on day 10, where as in the SOC group, 49 (12.25%) patients were on oxygen support initially which increased to 54 (13.5%). 12 (17.39%) patients administered favipiravir developed mild transaminits and 3 (4.35%) patients developed diarrhoea. Conclusion: Favipiravir is effective in mild to moderate COVID-19 pneumonia for enhancing viral clearance and resulted in clinical improvement.