Effects of a Single Dose of Ivermectin on Viral and Clinical Outcomes in Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infected Subjects: A Pilot Clinical Trial in Lebanon

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 989
• Main Authors: Samaha, Ali A, Mouawia, Hussein, Fawaz, Mirna, Hassan, Hamad, Salami, Ali, Bazzal, Ali Al, Saab, Hamid Bou, Al-Wakeel, Mohamed, Alsaabi, Ahmad, Chouman, Mohamad, Moussawi, Mahmoud Al, Ayoub, Hassan, Raad, Ali, Hajjeh, Ola, Eid, Ali H, Raad, Houssam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26-05-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Asymptomatic; Asymptomatic Infections; Body weight; Clinical outcomes; clinical trial; Clinical trials; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Disease transmission; Drug dosages; FDA approval; Female; Humans; Influenza; Ivermectin; Ivermectin - therapeutic use; Lebanon; Lebanon - epidemiology; Male; Medical research; pandemic; Proteins; Public health; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Treatment Outcome; Viral Load - drug effects; Viruses; Lebanon; COVID-19; Lebanon; clinical trial; SARS-CoV-2; therapy; pandemic; ivermectin
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v13060989

This study was designed to determine the efficacy of ivermectin, an FDA-approved drug, in producing clinical benefits and decreasing the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic subjects that tested positive for this virus in Lebanon.
A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 100 asymptomatic Lebanese subjects that have tested positive for SARS-CoV2. Fifty patients received standard preventive treatment, mainly supplements, and the experimental group received a single dose (according to body weight) of ivermectin, in addition to the same supplements the control group received.
There was no significant difference (
= 0.06) between Ct-values of the two groups before the regimen was started (day zero), indicating that subjects in both groups had similar viral loads. At 72 h after the regimen started, the increase in Ct-values was dramatically higher in the ivermectin than in the control group. In the ivermectin group, Ct increased from 15.13 ± 2.07 (day zero) to 30.14 ± 6.22 (day three; mean ± SD), compared to the control group, where the Ct values increased only from 14.20 ± 2.48 (day zero) to 18.96 ± 3.26 (day three; mean ± SD). Moreover, more subjects in the control group developed clinical symptoms. Three individuals (6%) required hospitalization, compared to the ivermectin group (0%).
Ivermectin appears to be efficacious in providing clinical benefits in a randomized treatment of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects, effectively resulting in fewer symptoms, lower viral load and reduced hospital admissions. However, larger-scale trials are warranted for this conclusion to be further cemented.