Efficacy and safety of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) in moderately ill patients with COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial

Licorice extract (glycyrrhizin), a potent antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant remedy, is a potential therapeutic option for COVID-19. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of licorice in patients with moderate COVID-19. In this study, 60 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive licorice (at a dose of 760 mg three times a day for seven days) or control groups. The primary outcomes were SPO2, body temperature, and respiratory rate (RR) after the end of the intervention. The findings indicated that SPO2, body temperature, and RR had no significant difference between the groups at the end of the intervention. However, CRP and ALT improved in the licorice group toward the baseline. The number of patients with worse prognoses, LOS, mortality, and the incidence of adverse events were not different between the groups at the end of the study. Licorice had no beneficial effect on the clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Moreover, this intervention demonstrated a safe profile of adverse events. The confirmation of the results of this preparatory trial requires more detailed multiple-center trials with a larger sample size.

Effects of Ginger on clinical manifestations and paraclinical features of patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome due to COVID-19: A structured summary of a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

We investigate the effects of Ginger, compared to the usual therapeutic regimen on clinical manifestations and paraclinical features in patients with confirmed COVID-19 that are moderately ill.

TRIAL DESIGN

This is a single center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with parallel group design.

PARTICIPANTS

Inclusion criteria: 1. Patients admitted to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Departments at Shahid Mohammadi Hospital, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2. Age ≥18 years (weight ≥35 kg) 3. Hospitalized ≤48 hours 4. Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis (Positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)) 5. Moderate pneumonia and lung involvement in imaging 6. Signing informed consent and willingness of study participant to accept randomization to any assigned treatment arm Exclusion criteria: 1. Underlying diseases, including heart disease, chronic hypertension, severe renal failure, severe liver failure, and thyroid disorders 2. Use of warfarin, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), diuretics, corticosteroids, and antiarrhythmic drugs 3. Severe and critical pneumonia 4. History of known allergy to Ginger 5. Pregnancy and breastfeeding INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: Intervention group: The standard treatment regimen for COVID-19 along with Ginger-based herbal tablets (Vomigone ®, Dineh Pharmaceutical Company, Iran) at a dose of 1000 mg three times a day for a period of seven days.

CONTROL GROUP

The standard treatment for COVID-19 based on the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education's protocol, along with Vomigone-like placebo tablets (Dineh Pharmaceutical Company, Iran) at a dose of two tablets three times a day for a period of seven days.

MAIN OUTCOMES

The primary outcome is recovery rate of clinical symptoms, including fever, dry cough, tiredness, and GI symptoms as well as paraclinical features, including thrombocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, and C-reactive protein within seven days of randomization. Time to improvement of clinical and paraclinical features along with the incidence of serious adverse events are the secondary outcomes within seven days of randomization.

RANDOMIZATION

An interactive web-based system will be used to allocate eligible participants, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, to one of the two study arms (in a 1:1 ratio) using block randomization.

BLINDING (MASKING)

All study participants, research coordinators, clinicians, nurses, and investigators will be blinded to the group assignment.

NUMBERS TO BE RANDOMIZED (SAMPLE SIZE)

A total of 84 participants will be randomized into two groups of 42 patients.

TRIAL STATUS

The protocol is Version 1.0, May 23, 2020. Recruitment began July 21, 2020, and is anticipated to be completed by October 30, 2020.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This clinical trial has been registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT). The registration number is " IRCT20200506047323N1 ". Registration date is 23 May 2020.

FULL PROTOCOL

The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest in expediting dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this Letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.

Effects of Licorice on clinical symptoms and laboratory signs in moderately ill patients with pneumonia from COVID-19: A structured summary of a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Objectives

We investigate the effects of Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) root extract, an anti-inflammatory natural medicine, compared to the usual therapeutic regimen on clinical symptoms and laboratory signs in patients with confirmed COVID-19 that are moderately ill.

Trial design

This is a single-center, open-label, randomized, clinical trial with parallel-group design. This study is being conducted at Shahid Mohammadi Hospital, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Participants

Both male and female patients with ≥18 years of age (≥ 35 kg of weight), admitted at the Shahid Mohammadi Hospital, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas for treatment, screened for the following criteria.

Inclusion criteria:

1. Confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (via polymerase chain reaction [PCR] and/or antibody test).

2. Presenting as moderate COVID-19 pneumonia (via chest computed tomography (CT) and/or X-ray) requiring hospitalization.

3. Hospitalized ≤48 hours.

4. Signing informed consent and willingness of study participant to accept randomization to any assigned treatment arm.

Exclusion criteria:

1. Underlying diseases, including chronic heart disease, chronic hypertension, severe renal failure, severe liver failure, and thyroid disorders.

2. Severe and critical COVID-19 pneumonia.

3. Use of warfarin, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), diuretics, corticosteroids, and antiarrhythmic drugs.

4. Treatment with Investigational and antiviral therapy in a clinical study within one month before randomization.

5. History of allergy to Licorice.

6. Pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Intervention and comparator

Intervention group: The standard treatment regimen for COVID-19 along with a Licorice-based herbal preparation (D-Reglis ®, Irandarouk Pharmaceutical Company, Iran) at a dose of 760 mg three times a day for a period of seven days.

Control group: The standard treatment for COVID-19 based on the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education's protocol for a period of seven days.

Main outcomes

The recovery rate of clinical symptoms, including fever, dry cough, and tiredness, as well as paraclinical features, including thrombocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, and C-reactive protein, are evaluated as primary outcomes within seven days of randomization.

Time to improvement of clinical and paraclinical features and length of stay in a hospital, along with the incidence of adverse reactions are also evaluated as the secondary outcomes within seven days of randomization.

Randomization

An electronic table of random numbers will be used to allocate the included participants into either control or intervention groups (in a 1:1 ratio) using the simple randomization method.

Blinding (masking)

This is an open-label trial without blinding and placebo control.

Numbers to be randomized (sample size)

A total of 60 participants randomizes (30 patients allocated to the intervention group and 30 patients allocated to the control group).

Trial Status

The protocol is Version 1.0, May 31, 2020. Recruitment began July 30, 2020, and is anticipated to be completed by October 30, 2020.

Trial registration

This clinical trial has been registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT). The registration number is “IRCT20200506047323N2”, https://www.irct.ir/trial/47990. The registration date is 31 May 2020.

Full protocol

The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest in expediting dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this Letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.

Post-vaccination Immunity Against Hepatitis B Virus and Predictors for Non-responders Among Medical Staff

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HB vaccination is an essential step in the prevention of the disease and its consequent complications.

OBJECTIVES

Immune status of medical personnel in teaching hospitals of Khuzestan is not well known. Since these personnel are usually at risk of needle stick and other high-risk events, some challenges exist in infection control committee with regard to managing these events. This study was conducted to assess post-vaccination immunity status and non-response to HBV vaccine as well as its predictors among medical staff in a teaching hospital affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) in Ahvaz, southwest Iran.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the medical staff of a teaching hospital was evaluated for their immune response against HBV and factors affecting it. The study conducted in Razi Hospital, Ahvaz City, southwest of Iran, in 2013. Demographical, clinical, and laboratory data registered in medical files of hospital staff were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using chi-square and Fisher exact tests. Differences with P value < 0.05 were considered significant. To identify predictors for non-responders, we used odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

Out of 239 participants, 43 (18 %) were men and 196 (82%) were women. Their mean age was 31.9 ± 18.1 years (range of 20 - 55 years). Fourteen (5.9%) participants were non-responders, 37 (15.5%) were poor responders, and 188 (78.6%) were good responders. The non-responders were older (> 50 years) than the responders (P = 0.0001), while the body mass index (BMI) was not significantly different (P = 0.37) between them. Diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR: 7.3, 95% CI, 1.3 - 41.7, P = 0.05), and using immunosuppressive drugs (ISD) (OR: 3.2, 95% CI, 1.1 - 11.5, P = 0.03) were two variables in association with non-response to HB vaccine.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-response rate to HB vaccine in our study was approximately 6%. Age over 50 years, DM, and receiving immunosuppressive drugs may be considered as predictors for non-response to HB vaccine in medical staff.