TY - JOUR
T1 - Favipiravir for symptomatic COVID-19
T2 - A nationwide observational cohort study
AU - the Favipiravir Observational Study
AU - Doi, Yohei
AU - Ishihara, Takuma
AU - Banno, Sumi
AU - Ando, Masahiko
AU - Kondo, Masashi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Introduction: Favipiravir, an antiviral agent with activity against SARS-CoV-2, was made available to hospitals in Japan for off-label use among COVID-19 patients between 2020 and 2021. Methods: A nationwide observational cohort study was conducted on patients who received favipiravir as part of clinical care between February 2020 and December 2021. Information was collected on demographics, comorbidities, severity of illness, use of favipiravir and other medications targeting COVID-19, adverse events, clinical status at 7 and 14 days and clinical outcome one month after admission to the hospital. Results: A total of 17,508 hospitalized patients who received favipiravir were registered from 884 hospitals. In terms of demographics, 55.9% were age ≥60 years, and 62.3% were male. At least one of the four surveyed comorbidities was present in 45.5% of the patients. The rates of clinical improvement at 7 and 14 days were 72.4% and 87.5%, 61.4% and 76.6%, and 45.4% and 59.5% for mild, moderate, and severe diseases, respectively. The case fatality rates within a month from hospitalization were 3.3%, 12.6%, and 29.1% for mild, moderate, and severe diseases, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between death and advanced age, male sex, moderate or severe disease, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and immunosuppression. Commonly reported adverse events included uric acid level increase or hyperuricemia (16.8%), liver function abnormalities (6.9%), and rash (1.0%). Conclusions: Favipiravir was well tolerated among COVID-19 patients. The study provides insights into the use of this agent at hospitals across Japan in the early phase of the pandemic.
AB - Introduction: Favipiravir, an antiviral agent with activity against SARS-CoV-2, was made available to hospitals in Japan for off-label use among COVID-19 patients between 2020 and 2021. Methods: A nationwide observational cohort study was conducted on patients who received favipiravir as part of clinical care between February 2020 and December 2021. Information was collected on demographics, comorbidities, severity of illness, use of favipiravir and other medications targeting COVID-19, adverse events, clinical status at 7 and 14 days and clinical outcome one month after admission to the hospital. Results: A total of 17,508 hospitalized patients who received favipiravir were registered from 884 hospitals. In terms of demographics, 55.9% were age ≥60 years, and 62.3% were male. At least one of the four surveyed comorbidities was present in 45.5% of the patients. The rates of clinical improvement at 7 and 14 days were 72.4% and 87.5%, 61.4% and 76.6%, and 45.4% and 59.5% for mild, moderate, and severe diseases, respectively. The case fatality rates within a month from hospitalization were 3.3%, 12.6%, and 29.1% for mild, moderate, and severe diseases, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between death and advanced age, male sex, moderate or severe disease, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and immunosuppression. Commonly reported adverse events included uric acid level increase or hyperuricemia (16.8%), liver function abnormalities (6.9%), and rash (1.0%). Conclusions: Favipiravir was well tolerated among COVID-19 patients. The study provides insights into the use of this agent at hospitals across Japan in the early phase of the pandemic.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jiac.2022.10.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jiac.2022.10.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 36307058
AN - SCOPUS:85141304164
SN - 1341-321X
VL - 29
SP - 150
EP - 156
JO - Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy
JF - Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy
IS - 2
ER -