Systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness and safety of favipiravir in the management of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients

Ajay Prakash, Harvinder Singh, Hardeep Kaur, Ankita Semwal, Phulen Sarma, Anusuya Bhattacharyya, Deba Prasad Dhibar, Bikash MedhiIndian Journal of Pharmacology 2020 52(5):414-421 Multiple options are being tried for the management of 2019-nCoV infection since its pandemic started. Favipiravir (FPV) is one of drugs, which is also being tried for the management of 2019-nCoV infection. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FPV in published literature. Comparative randomized or nonrandomized controlled clinical trials comparing FPV to the standard of care (SOC)/control or other antiviral agent/combinations were included. A total of 12 databases were searched and identify four studies which were further used for final analysis. The data analysis was done as pooled prevalence using a random effect model by “RevMan manager version 5.4.1 and “R” software. The point estimate, odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for dichotomous data. In the present study, the marginal beneficial effect was seen in the FPV group in overall clinical improvement comparison to SOC/control, i.e., (4 studies, log OR [95% CI] (−0.19 [−0.51, 0.13]). However, in all other outcomes, it was found to be comparable to the SOC/control arm namely “clinical improvement on day 7–10” (3 studies, OR [95% CI] 1.63 [1.07, 2.48]) while...
Source: Indian Journal of Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Source Type: research