Can the antidepressant ‘fluvoxamine’ reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations?

While further research is needed, an infectious disease expert at McMaster University says he is hopeful that the drug fluvoxamine can be used as a treatment for COVID-19.

Dr. Zain Chagla shared his thoughts today on a new study that found high-risk patients who took fluvoxamine after being diagnosed with COVID-19 were less likely to be hospitalized than those who took a placebo.

“It’s prospective,” Dr. Chagla said of the research. “There is still a little bit more study needed with this drug but there are a couple trials that will come out in the United States in the coming weeks and months.”

Researchers at McMaster University co-led the study that was published in the journal Lancet Global Health on Wednesday.

Nearly 1500 unvaccinated people in Brazil participated in this study between Jan. 15 and Aug. 6 this year. Researchers treated 741 Brazilian COVID-19 patients with fluvoxamine and another 756 with a placebo. The patients were monitored for 28 days.

Fluvoxamine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that is used to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

According to the study, patients who took fluvoxamine were 32 per cent less likely to be hospitalized than those who were treated with the placebo. Of the patients who took fluvoxamine, almost 11 per cent were hospitalized. This compares to 16 per cent of placebo recipients being hospitalized.

The beneficial effect increased up to 65 per cent when patients took all of their drugs.

Dr. Chagla said fluvoxamine is less expensive than other treatments as a 10-day course only costs $10.

“It’s a cheap therapy, it’s easy to administer and it’s generic,” Dr. Chagla said. “There shouldn’t be supply chain issues globally.”