Role of Famotidine and Other Acid Reflux Medications for SARS-CoV-2: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the coronavirus-19 disease pandemic. The H-2 blocker famotidine has been suggested as an FDAapproved drug that could potentially be repurposed for treatment of COVID-19. Famotidine has since been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce symptom severity in patients acutely ill with COVID-19. Other studies have suggested that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) might have an association with COVID-19. Objective. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether famotidine or any other antireflux medications have a prophylactic or detrimental effect for SARS-CoV-2 infection when taken regularly for the management of acid reflux.Methods. An anonymous, web-based survey was distributed via email to adult otolaryngology patients to collect demographic data, past medical history, medication history, incidence of symptoms associated with COVID-19, potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and results of any PCR or serological testing. Associations between reflux medications and incidence of COVID-19 cases were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. Chisquare with Fisher's exact test, Point-Biserial correlation, Kendall's-tau-b, independent samples t test, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used as appropriate. A binary logistic regression model was fit to determine probability of COVID-19 cases after adjustment for other risk factors. Results. There were 307 patients who responded to the survey. The average age of respondents was 52.63 § 17.03. Famotidine use was not associated with incidence of laboratory-confirmed (P= 0.717) or symptomatically suspected (P= 0.876) COVID-19. No other reflux medications were found to be significant predictors for laboratory-confirmed or suspected COVID-19 (P> 0.05). Younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.043, 95% CI: 1.020−1.065, P< 0.001), high risk obesity (OR = 4.005, 95% CI: 1.449−11.069, P= 0.007), and use of a corticosteroid nasal spray (OR = 3.529, 95% CI: 1.352−9.211, P= 0.010) were significant predictors for symptomatically suspected COVID-19 cases. Conclusions. There was no association between incidence of COVID-19 and use of reflux medications, including famotidine at doses used orally to manage reflux and high dose PPIs. Reflux medications did not protect against or increase the risk of COVID-19.

Effect of famotidine on hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…A case series of 10 non-hospitalized COVID patients reported improved symptoms score after initiation of high dose famotidine [ 26 ]. However, a survey study conducted in otolaryngology patients found that chronic famotidine use was not associated with incidence of COVID-19 [ 27 ]. Regardless, higher quality studies such as RCTs are needed to further elucidate the role of famotidine in treating mild to moderate, non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and one such study is currently underway at Northwell Health [ 28 ].…”

Pendampingan Pembelajaran Daring dalam Meningkatkan Kreativitas Anak Usia Dini

“…Perubahan pola pembelajaran yang terjadi pada sektor pendidikan akibat Covid-19 (Balouch, 2021& Yasenov, 2020 sangat signifikan dari proses belajar mengajar sempat terhenti hingga muncul trens pembelajaran daring yang dikeluarkan oleh pemerintah pusat dengan skema pembelajaran dibagi berdasarkan zona aman hingga zona merah orang yang terpapar pandemi covid-19 (Lau et al, 2021;Malyana, 2020;Putro, 2020). Hingga pada tahun 2021 pemerintah masih menghimbau kepada satuan pendidikan untuk menerapkan pembelajaran jarak jauh meskipun anak sudah tidak betah untuk belajar dirumah (Wiguna, 2020).…”

Efficacy of Oral Famotidine in Patients Hospitalized With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

“…Furthermore, using the following agents in the order of preference based on efficacy is recommended in patients at risk of progression to severe COVID-19: ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir, sotrovimab, remdesivir, and molnupiravir [ 8 ]. The H-2 blocker, famotidine, has been suggested as an FDA-approved drug that could potentially be repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19 [ 9 ]. Famotidine has since then been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce symptom severity in patients acutely ill with COVID-19 [ 9 ].…”

“…The H-2 blocker, famotidine, has been suggested as an FDA-approved drug that could potentially be repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19 [ 9 ]. Famotidine has since then been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce symptom severity in patients acutely ill with COVID-19 [ 9 ]. Mather et al observed that in-hospital death, intubation, and combined death/intubation were significantly lower in the famotidine group than the non-famotidine group [ 10 ].…”