Effectiveness and Safety of Favipiravir Compared to Hydroxychloroquine for Management of Covid-19: A Retrospective Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Comparison of Demographic Characteristics of Patients According to Therapy Used

Characteristics	Total (n=508)	Neither Med (n=71)	Favipiravir (n=244)	Hydroxychloroquine (n=193)	Significance
Age (years) Mean± SD	51.00±14.96 (18.00–105.00)	41.67±16.61 (18.00–105.00)	54.80±14.87 (24.00–97.00)	49.59±12.63 (18.00–88.00)	0.0001*
Median (25–75 IQR)	51.00 (40.00–61.00)	38.00 (28.00–51.00)	54.00 (45.00–65.00)	49.00 (41.00–57.00)
Gender					0.284
Male	306 (60.2%)	46 (64.8%)	152 (62.3%)	108 (56.0%)
Female	202 (39.8%)	25 (35.2%)	92 (37.7%)	85 (44.0%)
Comorbidity					0.0001*
No	226 (44.5%)	48 (67.6%)	82 (33.6%)	96 (49.7%)
Yes	282 (55.5%)	23 (32.4%)	162 (66.4%)	97 (50.3%)
Diabetes mellitus	167(32.9%)	6 (8.5%)	105 (43.0%)	56 (29.0%)	0.0001*
Hypertension	117 (23.0%)	13 (18.3%)	69 (28.3%)	35 (18.1%)	0.026
Heart diseases	34 (6.7%)	–	26 (10.7%)	8 (4.1%)	0.001*
Asthma	30 (5.9%)	1 (1.4%)	14 (5.7%)	15 (7.8%)	0.149
Hypothyroidism	27 (5.3%)	2 (2.8%)	17 (7.0%)	8 (4.1%)	0.256
Obese	14 (2.8%)	–	10 (4.1%)	4 (2.1%)	0.136

Notes: Data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (minimum-maximum) and median (25–75 IQR or number (%) as appropriate. A comparison of parametric data was made using the Kruskal Wallis test. Comparison of categorized data was made using Pearson Chi-Square or Fisher Extract test as appropriate. *Significance at < 0.05.

Table 2 Comparison of Clinical Characteristics of Patients According to Therapy

Characteristics	Total (n=508)	Neither Med (n=71)	Favipiravir (n=244)	Hydroxychloroquine (n=193)	Significance
Symptoms (n, %)
Cough	425 (83.7%)	49 (69.0%)	201 (82.4%)	175 (90.7%)	0.0001*
Fever	355 (69.9%)	33 (46.5%)	177 (72.5%)	145 (75.1%)	0.0001*
Low oxygen saturation	336 (66.1%)	9 (12.7%)	176 (72.1%)	151 (78.2%)	0.0001*
Shorting of breath	276 (54.3%)	5 (7.0%)	146 (59.8%)	125 (64.8%)	0.0001*
Headache	120 (23.6%)	60 (84.5%)	36 (14.8%)	24 (12.4%)	0.0001*
Running nose	22 (4.3%)	21 (29.6%)	–	1 (0.5%)	0.0001*
Diarrhea	13 (2.6%)	3 (4.2%)	9 (3.7%)	1 (0.5%)	0.072
Vomiting	7 (1.4%)	6 (8.5%)	1 (0.4%)	–	0.0001*
Respiratory support (n, %)					0.0001*
No oxygen	112 (22.0%)	34 (47.9%)	44 (18.0%)	34 (17.6%)
Oxygen only	370 (72.8%)	37 (52.1%	179 (73.4%)	154 (79.8%)
Mechanical ventilation	26 (5.1%)	–	21 (8.6%)	5 (2.6%)
Patient location (n, %)					0.002*
Ward	462 (90.9%)	70 (98.6%)	211 (86.5%)	181 (93.8%)
ICU	46 (9.1%)	1 (1.4%)	33 (13.5%)	12 (6.2%)

Notes: Data were expressed as number (%) as appropriate. Comparison of categorized data was made using Pearson Chi-Square or Fisher Extract test as appropriate. *Significance at < 0.05.

Table 3 Comparison of Clinical Outcomes According to Therapy

Characteristics	Total (n=508)	Neither Med (n=71)	Favipiravir (n=244)	Hydroxychloroquine (n=193)	Significance
Discharge at day 14					0.0001*
Yes	303 (59.6%)	26 (36.6%)	154 (63.1%)	123 (63.7%)
No	205 (40.4%)	45 (63.4%)	90 (36.9%)	70 (36.3%)
Transfer to ICU					0.715
Yes	24 (5.2%)	4 (5.8%)	9 (4.3%)	11 (6.0%)
No	439 (94.8%)	65 (94.2%)	202(95.7%)	172 (94.0%)
Death					0.048*
Yes	34 (6.7%)	–	20 (8.2%)	14 (7.3%)
No	474 (93.3%)	71 (100.0%)	224 (91.8%)	179 (92.7%)

Notes: Data were expressed as number (%) as appropriate. Comparison of categorized data was made using Pearson Chi-Square or Fisher Extract test as appropriate. *Significance at < 0.05.

Table 4 Multivariable Cox Regression Model for Mortality and Discharge Prediction

Parameters	P-value	Hazard Ratio	95% Hazard Ratio Confidence Limits
Model 1: Multivariable for mortality prediction.
Hydroxychloroquine (vs Favipiravir)	0.0518	2.335	0.994–5.487
Age > 65 years	0.8386	0.898	0.321–2.517
Female gender	0.5523	0.762	0.310–1.870
Mechanical ventilation	<0.0001*	16.598	7.095–38.828
Comorbidity	0.1129	2.159	0.834–5.592
Model 2: Multivariable for discharge prediction.
Favipiravir (vs Hydroxychloroquine)	0.5843	0.933	0.729–1.195
Neither Med (vs Hydroxychloroquine)	0.0054*	0.540	0.350–0.834
Age > 65 years	0.0126*	0.630	0.438–0.906
Female gender	0.1670	1.182	0.933–1.497
Mechanical ventilation	0.0009*	0.094	0.023–0.380
Comorbidity	0.2908	0.878	0.689–1.118

Note: *Significance at < 0.05.

Table 5 Comparison of Adverse Effects Between Favipiravir and Hydroxychloroquine

Adverse Effects	Favipiravir (n=244)	Hydroxychloroquine (n=193)	Significance
No	196 (80.3%)	178 (92.2%)	0.0001*
Yes	48 (19.7%)	15 (7.8%)
Increased ALT	34 (13.9%)	5 (2.6%)	0.0001*
Increased AST	21 (8.6%)	2 (1.0%)	0.0001*
Vomiting	7 (2.9%)	4 (2.1%)	0.418
Nausea	4 (1.6%)	3 (1.6%)	0.627
Diarrhea	4 (1.6%)	2 (1.0%)	0.458
Prolonged Q-T interval	-	5 (2.6%)	0.016*
Patients stop medications because of adverse effects
Yes	4 (1.8%)	4 (2.1%)	0.504
No	240 (98.4%)	189 (97.9%)

Notes: Data were expressed as numbers (%). Comparison of categorized data was made using Pearson Chi-Square or Fisher Extract test as appropriate. *Significance at < 0.05.

Figure 1 Kaplan-Meier survival curves among treatment two groups.

Figure 2 Kaplan-Meier discharge probability curves among two groups.