The following is a summary of “Efficacy of oral amantadine among patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study,” published in the March 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Barczyk, et al.
Amantadine, a drug with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro, has been suggested as a potential treatment for COVID-19. However, no controlled study has assessed its safety and efficacy in COVID-19 patients.
For a multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled study, researchers aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of amantadine in patients with different COVID-19 severity classifications. Patients with oxygen saturation ≤ 94% or less and no need for high-flow oxygen or ventilatory support were randomly assigned to receive oral amantadine or placebo (1:1) for 10 days in addition to standard care. The primary endpoint was the recovery time within 28 days since randomization, defined as discharge from the hospital or no need for supplemental oxygen.
Following an interim analysis, the trial was abandoned due to lacking efficacy. Final data from 95 patients who got amantadine (mean age, 60.2 years; 65% male; 66% with comorbidities) and 91 patients who received a placebo (mean age, 55.8 years; 60% male; 68% with comorbidities) were acquired. The sub-hazard ratio for the amantadine (9-11) and placebo (8-11) groups was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.7-1.3), which indicates that the median (95% CI) time to recovery was 10 days in both groups. There was no discernible difference between the amantadine and placebo groups in the number of fatalities and the percentage of patients who needed critical care at 14 and 28 days.
The study concluded that adding amantadine to standard care in COVID-19 patients hospitalized with no need for high-flow oxygen or ventilatory support did not increase the likelihood of recovery. Further studies may be needed to assess the safety and efficacy of amantadine in patients with different disease severities or using different treatment protocols.
Source: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00086-0/fulltext