First Clinical Study Using HCV Protease Inhibitor Danoprevir to Treat Naive and Experienced COVID-19 Patients

Hongyi Chen; Zhicheng Zhang; Li Wang; Zhihua Huang; Fanghua Gong; Xiaodong Li; Yahong Chen; Jinzi J. WU

Nine treatment experienced patients were on lopinavir/ritonavir plus interferon nebulization treatment ranging from 2 to 13 days. Four Patients experienced lopinavir/ritonavir plus interferon nebulization treatment for 2 to 5 days with CT scans worsened and switched to danoprevir/ritonavir with interferon nebulization. The medical history, treatment and various examinations for one of patients, patient 6, were described in details below.  On February 14, 2020, a man in his 40's was admitted in to the hospital for positive RT-PCR nucleic acid test of SARS-CoV-2 in nasal swab. His family member was diagnosed with COVID-19 on February 11. Based on chest CT scans, subpleural area of the right lower lung showed GGO ( Figure 3A ). On admission, the patient reported a 3-day history of chest distress and fatigue. He showed no signs of fever, shortness of breath, nausea, and diarrhea. He had a history of hypertension.  In the evening of February 14, he was given the first dose of Kaletra (lopinavir (200 mg) /ritonavir (50 mg), per tablet), 2 tablets at a time, twice per day, along with interferon nebulization.  On February 15, the patient reported he still had chest distress. Soft thin stool was still reported and occasional cough and white sputum appeared. The patient continued lopinavir/ritonavir treatment and received rehydration supportive care.  On February 17, 3 days after receiving lopinavir/ritonavir treatment, the lower lung showed further consolidation, along with GGO and patch-shape areas based on CT scans ( Figure 3B ). Therefore, in the evening of February 17, lopinavir/ritonavir treatment was stopped and the . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.