Two-Drug Combo Shows Dramatic Results for COVID-19 Patients, UF Health Researchers Find

Combining an anti-inflammatory drug with an antiviral drug reduces recovery time and accelerates improvement for COVID-19 patients, a national study co-authored by UF Health researchers has found.

Patients treated with a combination of the anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib and the antiviral drug remdesivir while they were receiving high-flow oxygen or noninvasive ventilation had a recovery time of 10 days, compared with 18 days for patients in a remdesivir-only control group.

Researchers also found fewer adverse events in patients receiving the combination treatment, and the 28-day mortality was 5.1% in the combination group versus 7.8% in the control group.

The study, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was co-authored by Nicole M. Iovine, M.D., Ph.D., UF Health chief epidemiologist, and Marie-Carmelle Elie, M.D., from UF Health’s Department of Emergency Medicine, along with a number of researchers across the country. The study was published in December 2020 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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