Proxalutamide for the treatment of COVID‐19 rebound following Paxlovid treatment: Report of four cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: The pandemic the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has created a global health crisis. Although Paxlovid is recommended for the early‐stage treatment of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 in patients at increased risk of progression to severe COVID‐19, more and more cases are reported a COVID‐19 rebound after Paxlovid treatment. Currently, information on the additional treatment for COVID‐19 rebound following Paxlovid treatment is limited. CASE REPORT: Here, we present four cases with COVID‐19 who were mild on admission. All cases experienced a COVID‐19 rebound and progressed to severe COVID‐19, following treatment with Paxlovid (300 mg of nirmatrelvir with 100 mg ritonavir, twice daily for 5 days). After being treated with proxalutamide (300 mg/day), all cases finally turned real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) negative. CONCLUSION: Our cases suggested that proxalutamide might be an effective remedial treatment option for patients experiencing a COVID‐19 rebound after Paxlovid treatment.