Babalola OE1*, Ajayi AA2 , Thairu Y3 , Ndanusa YA4 , Ogedengbe J5 , Omede O6
Background and objectives: Hypoxemic respiratory failure is a common mode of demise in COVID-19 disease. We aimed to describe the time course of SPO2 changes in COVID-19 patients treated with and without ivermectin.
Methods: This was a parallel group, prospective comparative study of propensity matched COVID-19 patients (Cycle threshold Ct<25, SPO2<94%). 21 of the patients received Ivermectin (IVM) inclusive regime at 12 mg daily for 5 days, while 26 others received Non-ivermectin Inclusive Regime (NIVM).
Results: The IVM group demonstrated earlier and greater increase in SPO2 (p=0.000) which paralleled greater and faster virological clearance (p=0.000) on Repeat measures Analysis of Variance RMANOVA. There was a significant correlation between absolute SPO2 and absolute Ct on day 5 (r=0.77) and day 7 (r=0.77) both p=0.000. Incremental SPO2 also correlated with incremental Ct. by day 5 (r=0.397, p=0.003) and day 7 (r=0.315, p=0.0002) relative to baseline. Increase in platelet count correlated with increased SPO2 (r=0.252, p=0.029) on IVM, but negatively with NIVM (r=-0.28, p=0.17). Inflammatory markers such as ESR, CRP or D-dimer showed no significant correlation with SPO2. Increase in SPO2 on IVM was magnified in males.
Conclusion: IVM regime appears to be associated with faster and greater increase in SPO2 paralleling faster viral clearance in COVID-19 patients.