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Guzman-Esquivel J, Galvan-Salazar HR, Guzman-Solorzano HP, Cuevas-Velazquez AC, Guzman-Solorzano JA, Mokay-Ramirez KA, Paz-Michel BA, Murillo-Zamora E, Delgado-Enciso J, Melnikov V, Delgado-Enciso OG, Rodriguez-Sanchez IP, Martinez-Fierro ML, Rojas-Larios F, Walle-Guillen M, Cardenas-Aguilar CB, Beas-Guzman O, Chaviano-Conesa D, Garcia-Garcia HS, Delgado-Enciso I. Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial. Int J Mol Med 2022; 49:29. [PMID: 35029292 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2022.5084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Mefenamic acid is a non‑steroidal anti‑inflammatory drug exhibiting a wide range of anti‑inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic and probable antiviral activities. The present study evaluated the efficacy of treatment with mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care plus a placebo in ambulatory patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19; nasal/oropharyngeal swabs reverse transcription‑PCR test results positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The present study is a phase II prospective, two‑arm, parallel‑group, randomized, double‑blind placebo‑controlled clinical trial which analyzed 36 patients. Two aspects were evaluated during the 14‑day follow‑up period: i) The time for reaching a patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), and ii) the last day of each COVID‑19 symptom presentation. Adverse effects were evaluated. The clinical severity for all the patients in the study was mild (88.9%) and moderate (11.1%). The control (placebo) group achieved PASS on day 8.0±1.3, compared with day 4.4±0.8 in the mefenamic acid group (P=0.020, Kaplan‑Meier analyses using log‑rank tests). Patients that received mefenamic acid plus standard medical care had a ~16‑fold higher probability of achieving PASS on day 8 (adjusted RR, 15.57; 95% CI, 1.22‑198.71; P=0.035), compared with the placebo plus standard medical care group. All symptoms lasted for fewer days in the mefenamic acid group, compared with the placebo group; however, only the symptoms of headache (P=0.008), retro‑orbital eye pain (P=0.049), and sore throat (P=0.029) exhibited statistically significant differences. The experimental treatment produced no severe adverse effects. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that the administration of mefenamic acid markedly reduced the symptomatology and time to reach PASS in ambulatory patients with COVID‑19. Due to its probable antiviral effects and potent anti‑inflammatory mechanisms, mefenamic acid may prove to be useful in the treatment of COVID‑19, in combination with other drugs, including the new antivirals (remdesivir, molnupiravir, or favipiravir). However, future studies are also required to confirm these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Guzman-Esquivel
- Department of Research, General Hospital of Zone No. 1 IMSS, Villa de Alvarez, Colima 28984, Mexico
| | - Hector R Galvan-Salazar
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | | | | | - Jose A Guzman-Solorzano
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Karen A Mokay-Ramirez
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Brenda A Paz-Michel
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Efren Murillo-Zamora
- Department of Research, General Hospital of Zone No. 1 IMSS, Villa de Alvarez, Colima 28984, Mexico
| | - Josuel Delgado-Enciso
- Department of Research, Foundation for Cancer Ethics, Education and Research of the Cancerology State Institute, Colima 28085, Mexico
| | - Valery Melnikov
- Department of Research, General Hospital of Zone No. 1 IMSS, Villa de Alvarez, Colima 28984, Mexico
| | - Osiris G Delgado-Enciso
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Iram P Rodriguez-Sanchez
- Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo León 66455, Mexico
| | - Margarita L Martinez-Fierro
- Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Academic Unit of Human Medicine and Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
| | - Fabian Rojas-Larios
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Mireya Walle-Guillen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | | | - Oscar Beas-Guzman
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Daniel Chaviano-Conesa
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Hossana S Garcia-Garcia
- Department of Research, General Hospital of Zone No. 1 IMSS, Villa de Alvarez, Colima 28984, Mexico
| | - Ivan Delgado-Enciso
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
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