Effects of Azvudine on the Low-Risk Patients Infected with COVID-19 Omicron Variants: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

Background and Objective: Azvudine had been used in China to treat COVID-19 patients since 2022. However, there is few reports to analyze its efficacy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Azvudine in treatment of the patients infected with COVID-19 Omicron variants. Materials and Methods: This study included the discharged patients after COVID-19 infection from October 17 to November 17, 2022, in Zhengzhou Central Hospital. The patients were divided into the symptomatic treatment group (ST) and the symptomatic treatment and oral Azvudine (STA) groups to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Azvudine. Results: A total 481 patients were included. The recovery time of patients did not correlate with oral Azvudine (beta = 1.920, p = 0.056) in a low-fit multiple linear regression with the data-available patients (R-2 = 0.039, F = 3.117, p = 0.027). No significant differences were found in the recovery time (12.12 +/- 2.83 vs 12.21 +/- 2.84, n = 33, p = 0.897) and symptomatic severity between the two groups after 1:1 matched. However, STA groups had a lower total viral load than the ST group after the final matching (28.03 +/- 4.72 vs 25.53 +/- 5.32, n = 33, p = 0.048). The 17 of 206 patients reported Azvudine-related adverse effects and stopped Azvudine. Conclusion: Azvudine had little effect on the low-risk patients with Omicron infection to improve recovery time and symptoms. However, it could slightly decrease total viral load during the first 5 days after administration while being relatively safe for oral use overall.