The effect of interferon in the therapy of severe coronavirus infection

BACKGROUND: So far, several protocols have been used for the treatment of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we aimed to study the effect of interferon on the treatment of hypoxemia caused by COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experiment with a nonequivalent group design. All participants were admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Qom province. In total, 60 patients were enrolled in the study, and inclusion criteria were age over 18 years, positive PCR test result, pulmonary involvement in computed tomography (CT) scan, and SpO(2) level below 93%. Individuals were divided into two control (hydroxychloroquine + lopinavir/ritonavir [Kaletra]) and intervention (hydroxychloroquine + lopinavir/ritonavir [Kaletra] + interferon-β 1a [recigen]) groups. The data were analyzed in Stata/SE 14.2 using Chi-square, t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of patients was 63 ± 16.12 years and 43.3% were male. In terms of outcome variables, 20% of patients in the intervention group and 53.3% of subjects in the control group died and this difference was significant (P = 0.007). According to the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score, the severe cases were 16.7% in the intervention group and 50% in the control group (P = 0.006). In addition, the median days of hospitalization were 11.5 days—significantly higher than those in the control group (5.5 days) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, the use of interferon in the treatment of COVID-19 can improve health and reduce the severity of the disease and mortality.