Incidence of hospitalization or emergency department visit lower for those receiving interferon versus placebo<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For a predominantly vaccinated adult population with COVID-19, the incidence of hospitalization or emergency department visit is significantly lower for those receiving a single dose of pegylated interferon lambda versus placebo, according to a study published in the Feb. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Gilmar Reis, M.D., Ph.D., from Stanford Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness in California, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial involving predominantly vaccinated adults with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in Brazil and Canada to examine the efficacy of a single dose of pegylated interferon lambda. Outpatients who presented with an acute clinical condition consistent with COVID-19 within seven days after symptom onset were randomly assigned to pegylated interferon lambda or placebo (933 and 1,018 patients, respectively).<\/p>\n The researchers found that 2.7 and 5.6 percent of patients in the interferon and placebo groups, respectively, had a primary-outcome event (hospitalization or an emergency department visit due to COVID-19 within 28 days; relative risk, 0.49). In analyses of secondary outcomes, results were generally consistent, including time to hospitalization for COVID-19 and COVID-19-related hospitalizations or death (hazard ratios, 0.57 and 0.59, respectively). Consistent effects were seen across dominant variants and regardless of vaccination status. For patients with a high viral load at baseline, viral load was lower at day 7 for those receiving pegylated interferon lambda versus placebo.<\/p>\n “This drug would have saved millions of lives if we’d had it at the beginning of the pandemic, and it could still save millions of other lives,” a coauthor said in a statement.<\/p>\n The study was partially funded by FastGrants and Eiger BioPharmaceuticals; pegylated interferon lambda was provided to the researchers at no cost by Eiger.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n