Efficacy of oral indomethacin in the treatment of COVID-19 infection; a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Given the anti-viral activity of indomethacin and that it may be as a potent inhibitor of coronavirus replication, the goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of oral indomethacin in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Objectives: We evaluated the efficacy of oral Indomethacin on pneumonia of COVID 19 infection. Patients and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 45 patients with moderate symptoms of coronavirus-induced pneumonia admitted to Amin and Noor hospitals. All patients were randomly divided into two groups. In the intervention and control groups, 200 mg of hydroxychloroquine tablet was administered twice daily for 5 days. Acetaminophen was also prescribed if needed. Moreover, 75 mg indomethacin in slow-release formulation was administered for 5 days in the intervention group. Then patients were assessed regarding clinical parameters. Results: The mean age of patients in the case and control groups was 51.59 +/- 15.74 and 56.65 +/- 12.90 years old, respectively (P=0.41). Among 45 patients, 22 (48.9%) and 23 patients (51.1%) were male and female, respectively. The frequency of tracheal intubation in intervention and control groups was 0 (0%) and 1(4.54%), respectively (P=0.51). The mean recovery time in the intervention and control groups was 7 +/- 4 and 5 +/- 2, respectively (P=0.52). Furthermore, no patients in the two groups were re-hospitalized up to 28 days (P>0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two groups after intervention in terms of SpO2% (P = 02). Conclusion: According to these findings, oral indomethacin did not affect tracheal intubation in patients with COVID-19. Moreover, mean recovery time, re-hospitalization and SpO2 value were not influenced by indomethacin. Therefore, the use of oral indomethacin is not suggested in these patients.