Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial

  • Authors:
    • Jose Guzman‑Esquivel
    • Hector R. Galvan‑Salazar
    • Hannah P. Guzman‑Solorzano
    • Andrea C. Cuevas‑Velazquez
    • Jose A. Guzman‑Solorzano
    • Karen A. Mokay‑Ramirez
    • Brenda A. Paz‑Michel
    • Efren Murillo‑Zamora
    • Josuel Delgado‑Enciso
    • Valery Melnikov
    • Osiris G. Delgado‑Enciso
    • Iram P. Rodriguez‑Sanchez
    • Margarita L. Martinez‑Fierro
    • Fabian Rojas‑Larios
    • Mireya Walle‑Guillen
    • Citlaly B. Cardenas‑Aguilar
    • Oscar Beas‑Guzman
    • Daniel Chaviano‑Conesa
    • Hossana S. Garcia‑Garcia
    • Ivan Delgado‑Enciso
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 14, 2022     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2022.5084
  • Article Number: 29
Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

Mefenamic acid is a non‑steroidal anti‑inflammatory drug exhibiting a wide range of anti‑inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic and probable antiviral activities. The present study evaluated the efficacy of treatment with mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care plus a placebo in ambulatory patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19; nasal/oropharyngeal swabs reverse transcription‑PCR test results positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The present study is a phase II prospective, two‑arm, parallel‑group, randomized, double‑blind placebo‑controlled clinical trial which analyzed 36 patients. Two aspects were evaluated during the 14‑day follow‑up period: i) The time for reaching a patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), and ii) the last day of each COVID‑19 symptom presentation. Adverse effects were evaluated. The clinical severity for all the patients in the study was mild (88.9%) and moderate (11.1%). The control (placebo) group achieved PASS on day 8.0±1.3, compared with day 4.4±0.8 in the mefenamic acid group (P=0.020, Kaplan‑Meier analyses using log‑rank tests). Patients that received mefenamic acid plus standard medical care had a ~16‑fold higher probability of achieving PASS on day 8 (adjusted RR, 15.57; 95% CI, 1.22‑198.71; P=0.035), compared with the placebo plus standard medical care group. All symptoms lasted for fewer days in the mefenamic acid group, compared with the placebo group; however, only the symptoms of headache (P=0.008), retro‑orbital eye pain (P=0.049), and sore throat (P=0.029) exhibited statistically significant differences. The experimental treatment produced no severe adverse effects. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that the administration of mefenamic acid markedly reduced the symptomatology and time to reach PASS in ambulatory patients with COVID‑19. Due to its probable antiviral effects and potent anti‑inflammatory mechanisms, mefenamic acid may prove to be useful in the treatment of COVID‑19, in combination with other drugs, including the new antivirals (remdesivir, molnupiravir, or favipiravir). However, future studies are also required to confirm these findings.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

March-2022
Volume 49 Issue 3

Print ISSN: 1107-3756
Online ISSN:1791-244X

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Guzman‑Esquivel J, Galvan‑Salazar HR, Guzman‑Solorzano HP, Cuevas‑Velazquez AC, Guzman‑Solorzano JA, Mokay‑Ramirez KA, Paz‑Michel BA, Murillo‑Zamora E, Delgado‑Enciso J, Melnikov V, Melnikov V, et al: Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial. Int J Mol Med 49: 29, 2022
APA
Guzman‑Esquivel, J., Galvan‑Salazar, H.R., Guzman‑Solorzano, H.P., Cuevas‑Velazquez, A.C., Guzman‑Solorzano, J.A., Mokay‑Ramirez, K.A. ... Delgado‑Enciso, I. (2022). Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 49, 29. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2022.5084
MLA
Guzman‑Esquivel, J., Galvan‑Salazar, H. R., Guzman‑Solorzano, H. P., Cuevas‑Velazquez, A. C., Guzman‑Solorzano, J. A., Mokay‑Ramirez, K. A., Paz‑Michel, B. A., Murillo‑Zamora, E., Delgado‑Enciso, J., Melnikov, V., Delgado‑Enciso, O. G., Rodriguez‑Sanchez, I. P., Martinez‑Fierro, M. L., Rojas‑Larios, F., Walle‑Guillen, M., Cardenas‑Aguilar, C. B., Beas‑Guzman, O., Chaviano‑Conesa, D., Garcia‑Garcia, H. S., Delgado‑Enciso, I."Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial". International Journal of Molecular Medicine 49.3 (2022): 29.
Chicago
Guzman‑Esquivel, J., Galvan‑Salazar, H. R., Guzman‑Solorzano, H. P., Cuevas‑Velazquez, A. C., Guzman‑Solorzano, J. A., Mokay‑Ramirez, K. A., Paz‑Michel, B. A., Murillo‑Zamora, E., Delgado‑Enciso, J., Melnikov, V., Delgado‑Enciso, O. G., Rodriguez‑Sanchez, I. P., Martinez‑Fierro, M. L., Rojas‑Larios, F., Walle‑Guillen, M., Cardenas‑Aguilar, C. B., Beas‑Guzman, O., Chaviano‑Conesa, D., Garcia‑Garcia, H. S., Delgado‑Enciso, I."Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID‑19: A randomized double‑blind placebo‑controlled trial". International Journal of Molecular Medicine 49, no. 3 (2022): 29. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2022.5084