Ivermectin Flops in Brazil

The peer-review New England Journal of Medicine journal recently published Original Article results showing early Ivermectin use in humans failed to reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations in patients in Brazil.

Announced on March 30, 2022, this phase 3 clinical trial was double-blinded and randomized, the gold standard for research.

A total of 1,358 patients were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin (679 patients) or a placebo (679).

Overall, 100 patients (14.7%) in the ivermectin group had a primary-outcome event, as compared with 111 (16.3%) in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.90; 95% Bayesian credible interval, 0.70 to 1.16).

Of the 211 primary-outcome events, 171 (81.0%) were hospital admissions.

The findings were similar to the primary analysis in a modified intention-to-treat analysis that included only patients who received at least one dose of ivermectin or placebo (relative risk, 0.89; 95% Bayesian credible interval, 0.69 to 1.15) and in a per-protocol analysis that included only patients who reported 100% adherence to the assigned regimen (relative risk, 0.94; 95% Bayesian credible interval, 0.67 to 1.35).

And there were no significant effects of ivermectin use on secondary outcomes or adverse events.

In conclusion, these researchers stated 'We did not find a significantly or clinically meaningful lower risk of medical admission to a hospital or prolonged emergency department observation (primary composite outcome) with ivermectin administered for three days at a dose of 400 μg per kilogram per day than with placebo.'

'We found no important treatment effects with ivermectin on the secondary outcomes.'

'The evidence supporting the role of ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19 is inconsistent.'

The U.S. FDA previously approved ivermectin for people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, conditions caused by parasitic worms. In addition, topical forms of Ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and skin conditions (rosacea). 

Other COVID-19 treatments, authorized, experimental, and off-label are listed at PrecisionVaccinations.com/treatments.

Note: This NEJM article was edited for clarity and manually curated for mobile readers.