Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia with favipiravir: early results from the Ege University cohort, Turkey

ERDEM, Hüseyin Aytaç; KORKMAZ EKREN, Pervin; ÇAĞLAYAN, Derya; IŞIKGÖZ TAŞBAKAN, Meltem; YAMAZHAN, Tansu; TAŞBAKAN, Mehmet Sezai; SAYINER, Abdullah; GÖKENGİN, Deniz

BACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of this descriptive article is to share the experience in Ege University, Turkey with favipiravir in the treatment of severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective descriptive study included patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who presented with or developed severe pneumonia. RESULTS: Forty patients who completed a full course (at least 5 days) of favipiravir were included in the study. At baseline, 30 (75%) patients required treatment for respiratory distress. Thirty-three patients (82.5%) were discharged from the hospital with full recovery, 6 patients (15%) died and 1 case (2.5%) was still at the intensive care unit (ICU) when this paper was written. CONCLUSION: This study provides relevant information for the treatment of COVID-19, suggesting that favipiravir was associated with significant clinical and laboratory improvements in the majority of the patients, is a safe drug with no serious side effects and would merit further investigation.