Evaluation of Pentoxifylline and Colchicine Administration on Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Background and Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous cases of respiratory failure and death. Due to the little information available about the disease treatment, we decided to evaluate the effectiveness of pentoxifylline and colchicine in preventing the progression of the disease to the stage of deterioration in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: In a double-blind randomized clinical trial, 60 matched patients with covid-19 over 40 years of age, moderate and severe severity were studied in Shafa Khorramabad Hospital for each group (control and intervention). The intervention group received pentoxifylline at a dose of 400 mg every 12 hours and colchicine at a dose of 0.5 mg daily in addition to standard treatment, and the control group received the standard treatment regimen alone. In both groups, clinical and laboratory criteria in blood were compared. Also, the duration of hospitalization, the duration of the intensive care unit admission, the rate of recovery (reduction of disease symptoms and increase of blood oxygen), and death were compared. Findings: There was no significant difference between the age, weight, gender, medical history and early symptoms of the two groups. The two groups differed significantly in the number of people hospitalized in the ICU (17 people, 28.3 % in the control group) and (6 people, 10 % in the intervention group) and the number of people with persistent fever (24 people, 30% in the control group), and (12 people, 20% in the intervention group). Also, the duration of hospitalization in the intervention group was one day less (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mortality, clinical and laboratory results. Conclusion: Prescribing two drugs, pentoxifylline and colchicine, may prevent the critical stage of the disease.