Effects of COVID-19 Treatment with Favipiravir on Hospitalized Pediatric Patients at Kohchan Hospital, Chonburi
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a novel disease that continues to emerge. Consequently, there are still many unresolved questions regarding the effectiveness of treatment for the disease, especially among pediatric patients.
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to examine the effects of favipiravir (FPV) on the treatment of COVID-19 by describing the baseline characteristics, clinical features and time to recovery among hospitalized pediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as to investigate the effects of favipiravir (FPV) on the treatment of COVID-19 compared to symptomatic treatment (ST). Clinical recovery times were used to measure the outcomes.
METHODS: This was a retrospective observational cohort study carried out from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 at Ko-chan Hospital, Chonburi District, Thailand. Baseline characteristics, clinical features and clinical recovery time among hospitalized pediatric patients aged under 15 years diagnosed with COVID-19 were collected from the medical records of the hospital for this investigation.
RESULTS: A total of 53 pediatric patients were included for analysis, and 27 patients were treated with FPV. They were mostly male (74.1%) and aged between 1-5 years (55.6%). A total of 25.9% were assessed as having mild cases, while 74.1% had moderate cases. The most common clinical features were fever (88.9%) and cough (81.5%). The overall mean recovery time was 3.6±0.3 days (95%CI=2.98-4.22) in the FPV group vs. 4.8±0.3 days (95%CI=4.17-5.52) in the ST group. The Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) was 2.27, 95% CI=1.14-4.52, p=0.02. No difference was observed in the mean time to relieve fever and cough (AHR 1.21, 95% CI=0.62-2.39, p=0.58 and AHR 1.72, 95% CI=0.82-3.62, p=0.15, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study on hospitalized pediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19, it was revealed that most patients were between 1-5 years old. Fever and cough were the main clinical features. Pediatric patients had mild to moderate severity. In comparison to the non-treatment group, the recovery time for all clinical COVID-19 symptoms was shorter with FPV therapy. However, there was no effect on the duration to relieve fever and cough, which was the main symptom experienced by pediatric patients. A larger sample size is needed for additional research, or randomized controlled trials should be carried out to further assess the efficacy of FPV.
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