Clinical course and disease outcome in patients with severe COVID-19 receiving remdesivir

Background and aims: COVID-19 is a pandemic and infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality rates as well as a global spread. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes for patients afflicted with COVID-19 and treated with remdesivir. Methods: In this clinical trial study, patients with severe COVID-19 confirmed by molecular testing and hospitalized at Hajar Hospital of Shahrekord in Iran were divided into standard care group (including 52 patients) and standard + remdesivir group (including 51 patients). The patients were examined for clinical symptoms, laboratory data, as well as mortality and recovery rates during the treatment period. Then the data were analyzed by SPSS version 23 using chi-square, independent t-test and repeated-measures ANOVA. Result: Clinical and laboratory monitoring on days 5, 10, and 14 showed that there was no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of hospitalization duration and ICU rate (58.8% versus 51.9%, P=0.48). The trend of Lymph count and platelet decreased significantly in the standard group (P=0.003, P=0.04, and P=0.03, respectively). Conclusion: Patients with severe COVID-19 were investigated and it was concluded that remdesivir produced no improvement in the remdesivir group compared to the standard group.