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Nitazoxanide, a dewormer popularly known as Annita, was able to reduce viral load in patients with mild COVID-19, according to a study coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Technology. However, the medication did not reduce the symptoms analyzed (cough, fever and fatigue) nor did it influence the number of hospitalizations.
The results of the investigation had already been mentioned on Monday (19) by Minister Marcos Pontes, who was diagnosed with covid-19 in July and participated in this clinical trial. At the time, and without giving much detail, Pontes said that nitazoxanide reduced the contagion, the viral load and the probability that the symptoms will increase.
Second article published today on the platform medRxiv, there is no difference between the healing process of symptoms between patients taking Annita and those taking placebo. But the drug “is safe and significantly reduces viral load, increasing the proportion of patients who test negative for the coronavirus after five days.”
Nitazoxanide was also unable to prevent hospitalizations or had an effect on blood test results, CRP (C-reactive protein, produced by the liver) levels, or inflammatory biomarkers.
The researchers admit that the study has several limitations. Only three symptoms were considered and there was no long-term follow-up (more than 28 days) of the patients; only those who continued to show one or more symptoms after five days were contacted again.
Also, the volunteers were instructed to take the drug three times a day, but there is no guarantee that they followed the instructions. “Given the placebo control, non-adherence [à prescrição médica] it could have happened in both groups ”, they reflect.
The researchers also note that the demographic profile of the 392 volunteers – most were between the ages of 18 and 39, few had comorbidities or used other types of medication – may have contributed to the favorable outcomes for nitazoxanide.
The article reporting the results of the study is still pending peer review for publication in an international scientific journal. The study was coordinated by researcher Patricia R. SUBWAY. Rocco, from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).
Viral load reduction
According to the study, nitazoxanide was able to reduce viral load in patients with mild symptoms of covid-19. This measurement shows the approximate amount of virus in the collected samples. Knowing this number, however, is information of little clinical value, as already noted. Alison Chaves, PhD in microbiology and immunology from Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo), in an article in Questão de Ciência magazine. “It is not of great medical significance, since this information does not alter clinical behavior or is directly related to the patient’s condition.”
On Twitter, Natalia Pasternak, doctor in microbiology and president of the Questão de Ciência Institute, commented on the result of the study: “The only positive result, the reduction in viral load, is questionable, since there was no correction of the baseline viral load ( before the start of treatment) Viral load on days five to eight has no clinical or epidemiological relevance, there was no reduction in hospitalization or death, and the transmission window is longer two days before or even two days after symptoms. no it has an impact on transmission. Ultimately, the drug does not reduce hospitalization, serious illness or death, and it has no clinical impact or transmission “.
