Bromhexine Hydrochloride Prophylaxis of COVID-19 for Medical Personnel: A Randomized Open-Label Study
This article has been Reviewed by the following groups
Listed in
- Evaluated articles (ScreenIT)
Abstract
Background. Bromhexine hydrochloride has been suggested as a TMPRSS2 protease blocker that precludes the penetration of SARS-CoV-2 into cells. We aimed to assess the preventive potential of regular bromhexine hydrochloride intake for COVID-19 risk reduction in medical staff actively involved in the evaluation and treatment of patients with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods. In a single-centre randomized open-label study, medical staff managing patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and followed up for 8 weeks. The study began at the initiation of COVID-19 management in the clinic. The study was prematurely terminated after the enrollment of 50 participants without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection: 25 were assigned to bromhexine hydrochloride treatment (8 mg 3 times per day), and 25 were controls. The composite primary endpoint was a positive nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 or signs of clinical infection within 28 days and at week 8. Secondary endpoints included time from the first contact with a person with COVID-19 to the appearance of respiratory infection symptoms; the number of days before a first positive SARS-CoV-2 test; the number of asymptomatic participants with a positive nasopharyngeal swab test; the number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases; and adverse events. Results. The rate of the combined primary endpoint did not differ significantly between the active treatment group (2/25 [8%]) and control group (7/25 [28%]); P = 0.07 . A fewer number of participants developed symptomatic COVID-19 in the treatment group compared to controls (0/25 vs. 5/25; P = 0.02 ). Conclusion. Although the study was underpowered, it showed that Bromhexine hydrochloride prophylaxis was associated with a reduced rate of symptomatic COVID-19. The prophylactic treatment was not associated with a lower combined primary endpoint rate, a positive swab PCR test, or COVID-19 (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04405999).
Article activity feed
-
-
-
-
SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.03.21252855: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement IRB: The study was approved by the Almazov National Medical Research Centre ethics committee (protocol #0105-20-02С from May
Consent: The participants provided a scanned copy of signed consent.Randomization Study design: We conducted a single-centre randomized, open-label study to evaluate 8-week prophylaxis with bromhexine hydrochloride during the period of regular exposure to Covid-19 (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04405999). Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Table 2: Resources
Antibodies Sentences Resources Blood tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were taken at baseline (serologic qualitative assessment of IgM … SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.03.21252855: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement IRB: The study was approved by the Almazov National Medical Research Centre ethics committee (protocol #0105-20-02С from May
Consent: The participants provided a scanned copy of signed consent.Randomization Study design: We conducted a single-centre randomized, open-label study to evaluate 8-week prophylaxis with bromhexine hydrochloride during the period of regular exposure to Covid-19 (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04405999). Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Table 2: Resources
Antibodies Sentences Resources Blood tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were taken at baseline (serologic qualitative assessment of IgM and IgG, ELISA-BEST, Vektor-Best, Novosibirsk, Russia). SARS-CoV-2suggested: NoneVektor-Best , Novosibirsk , Russia) .suggested: NoneSoftware and Algorithms Sentences Resources Statistical analysis was performed using STATISTICA software 13.0 (StatSoft, USA), according to the intention-to-treat principle, with a P-value suggesting a statistically significant difference when <0.05. STATISTICAsuggested: (STATISTICA , RRID:SCR_014213)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:Study limitations: The study sample size may appear limited, however, it was enough to demonstrate the significant difference in secondary outcome between the groups. Another limitation is the lack of sequential serologic testing, which we considered less informative due to a very short study period.
Results from TrialIdentifier: We found the following clinical trial numbers in your paper:
Identifier Status Title NCT04405999 Completed Prevention of Infection and Incidence of COVID-19 in Medical… 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.
-