Therapeutic Effectiveness of Interferon Alpha 2b Treatment for COVID-19 Patient Recovery

  1. Ricardo Pereda
  2. Daniel González
  3. Hubert Blas Rivero
  4. Juan Carlos Rivero
  5. Albadio Pérez
  6. Lissette Del Rosario Lopez
  7. Natacha Mezquia
  8. Rafael Venegas
  9. Julio Roberto Betancourt
  10. Rodolfo Emilio Domínguez
  11. Hugo Nodarse

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Abstract

A previous report on 814 patients who were coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive provided preliminary therapeutic efficacy evidence with interferon-α2b (IFN-α2b) in Cuba, from March 11 to April 14, 2020. This study re-evaluates the effectiveness of IFN-α2b during the period from March 11 to June 17, 2020. Patients received a combination of oral antivirals (lopinavir/ritonavir and chloroquine) with intramuscular or subcutaneous administration of IFN-α2b. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients discharged from the hospital; the secondary endpoint was the case fatality rate, and several outcomes related to time variables were also evaluated. From March 11 to June 17, 2,295 patients had been confirmed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive in Cuba, 2,165 were treated with Heberon ® Alpha R, and 130 received the approved protocol without IFN. The proportion of fully recovered patients was higher in the IFN-treated compared with the non-IFN-treated group. Prior IFN treatment decreases the likelihood of intensive care and increases the survival after severe or critical diseases. Benefits of IFN were significantly supported by time variables analyzed. This second report confirmed our preliminary evidence about the therapeutic effectiveness of IFN-α2b in SARS-CoV-2 infection and postulated Heberon Alpha R as the main component within antiviral drugs used in the Cuban protocol COVID-19.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.07.28.20157974: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementConsent: Individuals themselves, parents or legal representative had to give informed consent and have no contraindications for treatment with IFN described in the product information sheet, to receive Heberon® Alpha R as approved in the Cuban protocol for COVID-19.
    IRB: The protocol of this study was evaluated and approved by a centralized Research Ethics Committee, representing all hospital institutions enrolled in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Regardless of the identified limitations, this report provides evidence of the effectiveness of IFN-α2b as an antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection and suggests that the use of Heberon® Alpha R at the doses and therapeutic regimen employed may contribute to recovery from COVID-19. Furthers studies are needed for additional efficacy and safety profile evaluation of Heberon® Alpha R, specifically a randomized clinical trial for comparison with other potential antivirals.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1089/jir.2020.0188
  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.07.28.20157974 on medRxiv