Dermatol Ther Azithromycin and COVID-19Prompt Early Use at First Signs of This Infection in Adults and Children An Approach Worthy of Consideration

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Dermatol Ther


. 2020 Jun 8;e13785.
doi: 10.1111/dth.13785. Online ahead of print.
Azithromycin and COVID-19Prompt Early Use at First Signs of This Infection in Adults and Children An Approach Worthy of Consideration


Robert A Schwartz ¹ , Robert M Suskind ²



Affiliations

• PMID: 32510734
• DOI: 10.1111/dth.13785

Abstract

The devastating effects of the coronavirus designated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has led to urgent attempts to find effective therapeutic agents for inpatient and outpatient treatment of COVID-19. Initial enthusiasm for the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin has abated. However, as a result of positive clinical experience with azithromycin used alone during the first few days of the flu-like illness caused by this coronavirus, we recommend formal clinical trials using azithromycin early in the course of a COVID-19 infection. There is one clinical trial initiated, the individually-randomized, telemedicine-based, "Azithromycin for COVID-19 Treatment in Outpatients Nationwide (ACTION)" based at the University of California San Francisco. This placebo-controlled trial is designed to determine the efficacy of a single 1.2 g dose of oral azithromycin to prevent COVID-19 patient progression to hospitalization. We recommend formal clinical trials of azithromycin in its prepackaged form at the first sign of COVID-19 infection in adults and children, using an initial adult dose of 500 mg followed by 250 mg per day for four days, a total cumulative dose of 1.5 g, and for children 5 to 18 years of age, 10 mg/kg on the first day followed by 5 mg/kg for four days. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov-2; azithromycin; hydroxychloroquine; macrolide.