Effectiveness of Antiviral Therapy on Long COVID: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysisopen access
- Authors
- Choi, Yu Jung; Seo, Yu Bin; Seo, Jun-Won; Lee, Jacob; Nham, Eliel; Seong, Hye; Yoon, Jin Gu; Noh, Ji Yun; Cheong, Hee Jin; Kim, Woo Joo; Kim, Eun Jung; Song, Joon Young; Herr, Daniel L.
- Issue Date
- Dec-2023
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Keywords
- long COVID-19; antiviral therapy; SARS-CoV-2; systemic review; meta-analysis; post-acute sequelae
- Citation
- Journal of Clinical Medicine, v.12, no.23
- Indexed
- SCIE
SCOPUS
- Journal Title
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Volume
- 12
- Number
- 23
- URI
- https://scholarworks.korea.ac.kr/kumedicine/handle/2021.sw.kumedicine/64950
- DOI
- 10.3390/jcm12237375
- ISSN
- 2077-0383
2077-0383
- Abstract
- Antiviral treatment reduces the severity and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, its effectiveness against long COVID-19 is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of antiviral drugs in preventing long COVID and related hospitalizations/deaths. Scientific and medical databases were searched from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2023. We included observational cohort studies comparing individuals receiving early antiviral therapy for COVID-19 and those receiving supportive treatment. A fixed-effects model was used to merge the effects reported in two or more studies. The risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) was combined as an odds ratio (OR). Six studies were selected, including a total of 3,352,235 participants. The occurrence of PASC was 27.5% lower in patients who received antiviral drugs during the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 0.725; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.409-0.747) than in the supportive treatment group. Moreover, the risk of PASC-associated hospitalization and mortality was 29.7% lower in patients receiving early antiviral therapy than in the supportive treatment group (OR = 0.721; 95% CI = 0.697-0.794). Early antiviral therapy was associated with a reduced risk of PASC and related hospitalization or death. Thus, early antiviral therapy is recommended for at-risk individuals.
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