Journal
PLOS ONE
Volume 16, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259061
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Categories
Funding
- British Heart Foundation [RG/4/32218]
- VA Cooperative Studies Program
- VA Boston Healthcare System
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIH/NIAMS) [K23AR069127]
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Harvard Medical School
- National Institutes of Health
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The study suggests that Disulfiram may reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of COVID-19. Further clinical trials are needed to assess its therapeutic effects.
Effective, low-cost therapeutics are needed to prevent and treat COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 disease is linked to excessive inflammation. Disulfiram is an approved oral drug used to treat alcohol use disorder that is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and an inhibitor of the viral proteases. We investigated the potential effects of disulfiram on SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity in an observational study using a large database of clinical records from the national US Veterans Affairs healthcare system. A multivariable Cox regression adjusted for demographic information and diagnosis of alcohol use disorder revealed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection with disulfiram use at a hazard ratio of 0.66 (34% lower risk, 95% confidence interval 24-43%). There were no COVID-19 related deaths among the 188 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients treated with disulfiram, in contrast to 5-6 statistically expected deaths based on the untreated population (P = 0.03). Our epidemiological results suggest that disulfiram may contribute to the reduced incidence and severity of COVID-19. These results support carefully planned clinical trials to assess the potential therapeutic effects of disulfiram in COVID-19.
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