ivermectin as a potential addition to the limited anti-covid-19 arsenal: a double-blinded clinical trial

Background: addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic remains a significant challenge for healthcare systems globally. despite the absence of a proven cure, ivermectin has been proposed as a potentially effective agent against it. objectives: this study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of ivermectin compared to a placebo group in non-critically ill confirmed covid-19 patients. methods: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 110 patients with moderate-to-severe (non-critical) confirmed covid-19 infection. the patients were equally divided into two groups, with one group receiving ivermectin tablets (14 mg every 12 hours for three days) and the other group receiving a placebo. the efficacy and safety of ivermectin were assessed in both groups. results: a total of 110 patients, including 62 (56.4%) men and 48 (43.6%) women, with an average age of 53.36 ± 15.10 years, were enrolled in our double-blind, randomized clinical trial. the baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. the findings demonstrated that ivermectin significantly reduced the need for intensive care unit admission (32.7% vs. 5.5%; p < 0.001), hospitalization duration (six vs. four days; p < 0.001), and median time to symptom resolution period (p < 0.05) in covid-19 patients compared to the placebo group, without any serious side effects (p > 0.05). conclusions: ivermectin appears to be a potentially effective and safe medication for covid-19 patients with moderate disease.