Is Remdesivir a good choice for COVID-19 treatment in an outpatient setting?

Askarian, Mehrdad; Movahedi, Mohammad; Motamed, Niloofar; Momeni, Mohsen; Taghrir, Mohammad Hossein; Mirani, Sara; Danaei, Mina

doi:10.18502/aptj.v3i1.12502

Is Remdesivir a good choice for COVID-19 treatment in an outpatient setting?

Document Type : Letter to editor

Authors

Mehrdad Askarian

Mohammad Movahedi

Niloofar Motamed

Mohsen Momeni

Mohammad Hossein Taghrir

Sara Mirani

Mina Danaei

10.18502/aptj.v3i1.12502

Abstract

Remdesivir (RDV) has been considered a “molecule of hope” for the treatment of COVID-19. Existing literatures show some inconsistent results about its efficacy in clinical settings. The trial results showed that RDV treatment was associated with improved recovery time in hospitalized adult patients who experienced infection of the lower respiratory system. A Spanish study showed that in patients who had less than one week of symptoms before hospitalization, RDV reduced the risk of death. A meta-analysis showed that RDV is beneficial in reducing mortality in hospitalized patients who needed no or conventional oxygen support. Its role in the treatment of ventilated patients was underpowered. Another systematic review demonstrated that RDV may have some benefits in the clinical period of the disease in hospitals and outpatient settings but the certainty of the evidence is limited.

Keywords

Remdesivir

COVID-19

Outpatients

Therapeutics