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Thalidomide combined with short-term low-dose glucocorticoid therapy for the treatment of severe COVID-19: A case-series study
OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent, in combination with glucocorticoid, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with life-threatening symptoms. METHODS: A nonrandomized comparative case series study was performed. Six patients re...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7834521/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33333254 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.023 |
Sumario: | OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent, in combination with glucocorticoid, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with life-threatening symptoms. METHODS: A nonrandomized comparative case series study was performed. Six patients received thalidomide 100 mg per day (with therapy lasting for ≥7 days) plus low-dose short-term dexamethasone, and 6 control patients matched with patients in the thalidomide group, received low-dose short-term treatment with dexamethasone alone. The main outcomes were: the duration of SARS-CoV-2 negative conversion from admission; length of hospital stay; and changes in inflammatory cytokine concentrations and lymphocyte subsets. RESULTS: The median thalidomide treatment time was 12.0 days. The median duration of SARS-CoV-2 negative conversion from admission and hospital stay length were briefer in the thalidomide group compared to the control group (respectively, 11.0 vs 23.0 days, P = 0.043; 18.5 vs 30.0 days, P = 0.043). The mean reduction rates at 7–10 days after treatment for serum interleukin-6 and interferon-γ concentrations were greater in the thalidomide group compared to the control group. Alterations in lymphocyte numbers in the subsets between the 2 groups were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Thalidomide plus short-term glucocorticoid therapy is an effective and safe regimen for the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients. The mechanism of action is most likely inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production. |
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