Cheap antidepressant reduced the risk of hospitalization among adults with COVID-19 from a high-risk group. Brazilian scientists came to this conclusion, which tested against the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 preparations used from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The results of the study are published in the log of The Lancet Global Health.
Researchers tested Fluvoxamine antidepressant involving almost 1,500 Brazilians recently infected with coronavirus, which were at risk of severe disease due to other health problems, such as diabetes. About half of volunteers accepted an antidepressant at home for ten days, the rest were given placebo. Patients were tracked for four weeks to find out who had hit the hospital or spent a long time in the emergency room.
It turned out that in a group that took the drug, only 11 percent of patients needed hospitalization or long stay in the emergency department compared with 16 percent of those who took placebo. However, additional research is needed to determine the optimal dosage, as well as reveal the benefit for patients with low risk of hospitalization and answer the question whether it is possible to combine tablets with other types of treatment.