Application of nasal spray containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DSMO) and ethanol during the COVID-19 pandemic may protect healthcare workers: A randomized controlled trials

Hosseinzadeh, A.; Emamian, M. H.; Tavakkolian, A.; Kia, V.; Ebrahimi, H.; Sheibani, H.; Binesh, E.; Jafari, R.; Mirrezaie, S. M.; Jafarisani, M.

Background: Coronavirus pandemic has affected a large population worldwide. Currently, the standard care for individuals who are exposed is supportive care, symptomatic management, and isolation. The aim of our study was to evaluate effects of combined use of ethanol and DMSO as a nasal spray in preventing COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial on volunteer healthcare workers of medical centers that were at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 in Shahroud, Iran. Two hundred and thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups to receive DSMO/ethanol or routine care, respectively. The subjects were followed for 4 weeks to determine the incidence of COVID-19 infection in each group based on the RT-qPCR test. Finally, absolute risk difference and relative risk were calculated to evaluate the effect of DSMO in prevent COVID-19. Results: The results showed that the incidence of COVID-19 in the control group and intervention group were 0.07 and 0.008, respectively. The relative risk (RR) was 0.12 (0.9-0.02) according to the incidence rate in the two groups. Conclusion: combined application of DSMO and ethanol in healthcare providers can considerably prevent COVID-19.