engleski

Safety and efficacy of fluvoxamine in COVID-19 ICU patients: An open label, prospective cohort trial with matched controls

Aims: Fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and sigma-1 recep-tor agonist, has so far shown promise in the prevention of COVID-19 progression asan early treatment option in three trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate thesafety and efficacy of fluvoxamine in COVID-19 patients if administered later in thecourse of the disease. Methods: The study was designed as an open-label, prospective cohort trial withmatched controls. In April and May 2021, 51 ICU COVID-19 patients hospitalised inthe University Hospital Dubrava and University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia, were treated with fluvoxamine 100 mg three times daily for 15 days in addition tostandard therapy and they were prospectively matched for age, gender, vaccinationagainst COVID-19, disease severity and comorbidities with 51 ICU controls. Results: No statistically significant differences between groups were observedregarding the number of days on ventilator support, duration of ICU or total hospitalstay. However, overall mortality was lower in the fluvoxamine group, 58.8%(n=30/51), than in the control group, 76.5% (n=39/51), HR 0.58, 95% CI (0.36–0.94, P=.027). Conclusion: Fluvoxamine treatment in addition to the standard therapy in hos-pitalised ICU COVID-19 patients could have a positive impact on patient survival.Further studies on the effects of fluvoxamine in COVID-19 patients are urgentlyrequired

COVID-19 ; fluvoxamine ; ICU ; intensive care ; SARS-CoV-2 ; SSRI ; clinical trial

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