Early use of Thymalfasin prevents progression of common COVID-19 infection to severe pneumonia

Abstract

Introduction Thymosin drugs are commonly used for the treatment of viral infections due to their immunomodulatory effects. Whether the use of thymosin drugs can reduce the rate of COVID-19 progression to severe pneumonia has not been well documented. The aim of the present study was to explore the clinical value of Thymalfasin in preventing COVID-19 progression to severe pneumonia by retrospective review of the clinical data of 338 inpatients with common COVID-19 infection who received treatment in our hospital. Methods The primary index of observation was whether progression to severe pneumonia occurred within a week after admission, and the secondary indexes were the length of hospital stay, time of negative conversion of COVID-19 antigen, the number of peripheral lymphocytes and white blood cells (WBC), and C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels. Results The length of hospital stay of patients in Thymalfasin group was significantly shorter than that of patients in the control group (p < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the use of Thymalfasin was an independent protective factor affecting the progression to severe pneumonia. Multifactorial Cox model analysis indicated that negative conversion of COVID-19 antigen was significantly faster in patients using Thymalfasin and younger patients. Conclusion Thymalfasin can prevent progression of common COVID-19 infection to severe pneumonia via multiple immunity-enhancing and anti-inflammatory protective mechanisms. However, it is necessary to grasp the timing of treatment to achieve better therapeutic effects. The present study demonstrated that use of Thymalfasin within a week of confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 infection could offer greater clinical efficacy.