Use of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19 in humans: integrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i12.20835Keywords:
Ivermectin; COVID-19; Treatment; Clinical studies.Abstract
With the appearance of the first cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2, the WHO quickly declared a pandemic against COVID-19, due to the high speed and transmissibility of the disease. In this scenario, in addition to research for the development of new drugs and vaccines, existing and approved drugs have also been studied, through the repositioning of drugs, as an alternative for the treatment of COVID-19, as is the case with ivermectin. Since then, several clinical trials have been carried out around the world to evaluate the antiviral action of ivermectin against COVID-19. Thus, this integrative review aims to analyze the scientific literature dealing with clinical trials on the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, describing the works, as well as discussing their results and limitations. The search for scientific studies published in electronic databases: PubMed, LILACS and SciELO was carried out, using the keywords “IVERMECTIN and COVID-19” and “IVERMECTIN and SARS-COV-2”. Articles published from 2019 onwards, which worked on the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, were selected. The research found studies that showed both positive and negative results for the use of ivermectin in relation to some parameters of the treatment of COVID-19. However, the works in general have methodological limitations. Thus, current evidence on the use of this drug to treat patients with COVID-19 is inconclusive, indicating the need for further well-designed and structured clinical trials to confirm or rule out these findings.
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