Antidepressant fluvoxamine does not speed up COVID-19 recovery

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-13 03:00

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US scientists say the antidepressant drug fluvoxamine, which is best known as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, does not speed up recovery from mild or moderate COVID-19. The drug was tested in 1,228 patients, 674 of whom received fluvoxamine, while the rest received a non-active placebo. The average recovery time was 12 days for those given the drug, and 13 days for those in the placebo group, while one participant in the fluvoxamine group and two participants in the placebo group were hospitalised. There were no deaths in either group. These findings suggest fluvoxamine should not be used in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19, the authors conclude.

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From: JAMA

Effect of Fluvoxamine vs Placebo on Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19

About The Study: Among outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, treatment with 50 mg of fluvoxamine twice daily for 10 days, compared with placebo, did not improve time to sustained recovery in this randomized clinical trial that included 1,288 adults. These findings do not support the use of fluvoxamine at this dose and duration in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

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conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Duke University School of Medicine, USA

Funder: This trial was supported by grant 3U24TR001608-06S1 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Additional support was provided by contract 75A50122C00037 from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; translational science award UL1TR002243 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (awarded to Vanderbilt University Medical Center); the REDCap infrastructure; and grant U24TR001579 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (awarded to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Recruitment Innovation Core).

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