RETRACTED: 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

Abstract

Objective: 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. Methods: 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. Results: There was no significant difference (p = 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%). Conclusion: 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.

Ivermectin for Prophylaxis and Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A total of 180 reports were excluded after preliminary screening; 28 were deemed potentially eligible, and the full-text was assessed. Seventeenstudies were then excluded (eight reviews [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 15 , 16 ], four protocols [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ], three non-RCTs [ 40 , 41 , 42 ], a pharmacokinetic study [ 43 ], and a pilot RCT not reporting the predefined outcomes of our review [ 44 ]). Hence, 11 studies were available for qualitative synthesis [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Ivermectin: a multifaceted drug of Nobel prize-honoured distinction with indicated efficacy against a new global scourge, COVID-19

“…An objection that had been raised earlier in 2021 to the preponderance of clinical evidence for the efficacy of IVM treatment of COVID-19 as summarized above was that none of these RCTs had been published in mainstream peer-reviewed scientific journals [ 23 ]. Closing that gap, however, was the publication in 2021 in journals from major scientific publishers of five such RCTs for COVID-19 treatment [ [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] ], each showing multiple clinical benefits for IVM vs. controls, most of these to statistical significance at p < 0.002. Also published in 2021 were three other RCTs for IVM treatment of COVID-19: one that reported briefer hospital stays for IVM treatment short of statistical significance (p = 0.08) [ 29 ], another that compared IVM with two other drug treatment groups but not a placebo group and found no benefit [ 30 ], and an additional study conducted in Cali, Columbia with mix-ups between treatment and placebo doses as described below.…”

Effectiveness of Ivermectin-Based Multidrug Therapy in Severe Hypoxic Ambulatory COVID-19 Patients

“…IVM has been tested in more than 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for COVID-19 treatment, with statistically highly significant clinical benefits in almost all of these and a pooled mortality reduction of 78% for the treatment vs. control groups [5]. Five such studies for IVM treatment of COVID-19 recently published in top-tier medical journals have all shown multiple clinical benefits for IVM vs. controls, most of these with high statistical significance on the order of p < 0.002 [6][7][8][9][10]. IVM is well tolerated at much greater than the standard single dose of 200 μg/kg [11,12] and has been used in RCTs for COVID-19 treatment at cumulative doses of 1,500 μg/kg [13], 1,600 μg/kg [14], and 3,000 μg/kg [15] over 4 or 5 days either without or with mild and transient adverse effects.…”