Oral Azvudine (FNC) Tablets in Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of data on the efficacy of oral Azvudine in Coronavirus Disease treatment. This study aimed to assess the association between Azvudine treatment and clinical outcomes in a cohort of patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in two mobile cabin hospitals. All consecutive patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted from August to October 2022 were included in the study. Linear regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between Azvudine treatment and time to obtain the first negative nucleic acid test results. Results: A total of 207 patients were analyzed, of whom 166 patients (80.2%) received Azvudine treatment after hospitalization, and the rest did not. Linear regression models showed that Azvudine treatment was associated with reduced time to obtain the first negative nucleic acid test results after adjusting for age and gender [mean difference = -1.658; 95% CI: -2.772 to -0.544, P = 0.0039]. The multivariable Cox analysis conforms to the results from the linear regression model (hazard ratio = 1.461; 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.11, P = 0.044). Conclusion: Azvudine treatment was associated with reduced virus shedding time. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Is Azvudine Comparable to Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir in Real-World Efficacy and Safety for Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19? A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…Although there are some acceptable efficacy and safety profiles of azvudine for treating COVID-19, evidence investigating its real-world outcomes is scarce. Only three real-world reports that compare azvudine with placebo have been published [ 23 ] or posted on the MedRxiv website for public comment [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Azvudine versus Paxlovid for oral treatment of COVID-19 in Chinese patients with pre-existing comorbidities

“… 4 Several studies demonstrated that Azvudine could reduce the duration of virus clearance and improve the clinical prognosis in COVID-19 patients including those with pre-existing comorbidities. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 Therefore, concerns arise about the clinical effectiveness of Azvudine versus Paxlovid in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing comorbidities on admission.…”

Inflammatory predictors (eosinophil, C-RP and IL-6) and effectiveness of oral Azvudine tablets treatment in COVID-19 hospitalized patients: A retrospective, self-controlled study

“…Since government policy and clinical expert guidelines recognized oral Azvudine treatment as a standardized treatment protocol for patients with COVID-19, Azvudine treatment has been widely used in China. Recent studies have shown that oral Azvudine treatment not only shortened the time to the first negative nucleic acid test results [ 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 ], but also reduced the risks of the accompanying disease progression outcome and all-cause death, especially for male patients with COVID-19 [ 6 , 17 , 23 ]. Additionally, Azvudine treatment improved the function of immune cells in monkeys [ 18 ].…”

“…The level of eosinophil cells is reduced and gradually recovers to normal after optimal treatment of COVID-19, which could be a useful indicator for the degree of COVID-19 [ 14 ]. With regard to the effectiveness of Azvudine treatment, it not only contributes to reducing the viral shedding time [ 15 , 16 ], but is associated with lower risks of severe complications and all-cause-death in patients with COVID-19, especially in male patients [ 17 ]. A recent study showed that there was a sharp increase in alive CD4 + and CD8 + T cells in the thymus of monkeys after Azvudine treatment, which contributed to the improvement of immune cells functions in the thymus [ 18 ].…”