Benefits of Early Combination Antiviral Treatment Containing Favipiravir
for COVID-19 in Thailand
Abstract
We report the clinical outcomes following implementation of initial
COVID-19 treatment guidelines in Thailand. A composite poor outcome was
defined as death, ICU admission, requiring intubation, or high-flow
oxygen. 744 COVID-19 patients (48.8% male) were included, median (IQR)
age was 37 (27-48) years [8.4% >60 years] and 21.4%
had pneumonia at admission. Admission <4 days from symptom
onset had a reduced risk of poor outcome. In a subgroup analysis,
favipiravir use reduced the risk of a poor outcome for patients admitted
<4 days from symptom onset (OR 0.320 (0.152-0.662), P=0.003).
Thai guidelines now include favipiravir to treat all symptomatic
COVID-19 patients.