Ivermectin as a potential treatment for mild to moderate COVID-19 – A double blind randomized placebo-controlled trial

Objective: Ivermectin has been suggested as a treatment for COVID-19.This randomised control trial was conducted to test the efficacy of Ivermectin in the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19.

Design: Parallel, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial

Setting: A tertiary care dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Bihar, India

Participants: Adult patients (> 18 years) admitted with mild to moderate COVID 19 disease (saturation > 90% on room air, respiratory rate < 30 and no features of shock) with no contraindications to ivermectin and willing to participate in the study

Intervention: Patients in the intervention arm were given ivermectin 12 mg on day 1 and day 2 of admission. Patients in the placebo arm were given identical looking placebo tablets. Rest of the treatment was continued as per the existing protocol and the clinical judgment of the treating teams.

Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was a negative RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 on day 6 o...