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Interferon-α2b Treatment for COVID-19 Zhou, Qiong; Chen, Virginia; Shannon, Casey P.; Wei, Xiao-Shan; Xiang, Xuan; Wang, Xu; Wang, Zi-Hao; Tebbutt, Scott J.; Kollmann, Tobias; Fish, Eleanor N.

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 cases caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 is ongoing, with no approved antiviral intervention. We describe here the effects of treatment with interferon (IFN)-α2b in a cohort of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China. In this uncontrolled, exploratory study, 77 adults hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 were treated with either nebulized IFN-α2b (5 mU b.i.d.), arbidol (200 mg t.i.d.) or a combination of IFN-α2b plus arbidol. Serial SARS-CoV-2 testing along with hematological measurements, including cell counts, blood biochemistry and serum cytokine levels, and temperature and blood oxygen saturation levels, were recorded for each patient during their hospital stay. Treatment with IFN-α2b with or without arbidol significantly reduced the duration of detectable virus in the upper respiratory tract and in parallel reduced duration of elevated blood levels for the inflammatory markers IL-6 and CRP. These findings suggest that IFN-α2b should be further investigated as a therapy in COVID-19 cases.

Item Metadata

Title
Interferon-α2b Treatment for COVID-19
Creator
Zhou, Qiong; Chen, Virginia; Shannon, Casey P.; Wei, Xiao-Shan; Xiang, Xuan; Wang, Xu; Wang, Zi-Hao; Tebbutt, Scott J.; Kollmann, Tobias; Fish, Eleanor N.
Contributor
British Columbia Centre for Excellence for Prevention of Organ Failure; University of British Columbia. Centre for Heart Lung Innovation; St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.)
Publisher
Frontiers in Immunology
Date Issued
2020-05-15
Description
The global pandemic of COVID-19 cases caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 is ongoing, with no approved antiviral intervention. We describe here the effects of treatment with interferon (IFN)-α2b in a cohort of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China. In this uncontrolled, exploratory study, 77 adults hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 were treated with either nebulized IFN-α2b (5 mU b.i.d.), arbidol (200 mg t.i.d.) or a combination of IFN-α2b plus arbidol. Serial SARS-CoV-2 testing along with hematological measurements, including cell counts, blood biochemistry and serum cytokine levels, and temperature and blood oxygen saturation levels, were recorded for each patient during their hospital stay. Treatment with IFN-α2b with or without arbidol significantly reduced the duration of detectable virus in the upper respiratory tract and in parallel reduced duration of elevated blood levels for the inflammatory markers IL-6 and CRP. These findings suggest that IFN-α2b should be further investigated as a therapy in COVID-19 cases.
Subject
interferon; COVID-19; viral shedding; IL-6; inflammation; ARDS
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-01-05
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0395454
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/76945
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Medicine, Department of
Citation
Zhou Q, Chen V, Shannon CP, Wei X-S, Xiang X, Wang X, Wang Z-H, Tebbutt SJ, Kollmann TR and Fish EN (2020) Interferon-α2b Treatment for COVID-19. Front. Immunol. 11:1061.
Publisher DOI
10.3389/fimmu.2020.01061
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Copyright Holder
Authors
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International