Background: Interferons are essential part of the innate immune and have antiviral and immunomodulatory functions. In the lack of definite medication for COVID-19, Interferons can be effective in treatment of severe cases of COVID-19 and may decrease mortality of this disease.
Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Loghman-Hakim hospital from 20 February 2020 to 20 April 2020, Tehran, Iran. Patients were selected from two groups, first group received Interferon β-1a in addition to standard treatment regimen and patients of second group received standard care. The clinical progression of two groups during their hospital admission have been compared.
Results: We studied total number of 395 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Out of this number, 111 patients (33.5%) died (31.3% of Interferon β-1a (Recigen) group and 34.1% of control group). Mortality rate indicated no statistically significant difference between groups, however for patients who hospitalized more than a week, the rate of mortality was lower in Recigen group. The median time of staying in hospital was statistically shorter for patients treated by IFN-β1a. The Odds of death in control groups who hospitalized for at least one week, compared to Recigen group was 3.96 (95% CI: 1.37-11.43, P.value=0.011)
Conclusion: This study showed IFN-β1a have significant efficacy in treating severe COVID-19 patients who hospitalized for at least one week and improve the outcomes of patients and decrease the duration of hospitalization.