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<Articles JournalTitle="Journal of Pharmaceutical Care">
  <Article>
    <Journal>
      <PublisherName>Tehran University of Medical Sciences</PublisherName>
      <JournalTitle>Journal of Pharmaceutical Care</JournalTitle>
      <Issn>2322-4630</Issn>
      <Volume>9</Volume>
      <Issue>3</Issue>
      <PubDate PubStatus="epublish">
        <Year>2021</Year>
        <Month>09</Month>
        <Day>28</Day>
      </PubDate>
    </Journal>
    <title locale="en_US">Efficacy and Safety of Interferon Beta-1b in the Management of Patients with COVID-19: A Prospective, Open-Label, Non-Randomized Trial</title>
    <FirstPage>129</FirstPage>
    <LastPage>136</LastPage>
    <Language>EN</Language>
    <AuthorList>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Nima</FirstName>
        <LastName>Rouhani</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Infectious Diseases, Ibne Sina Medical and Educational Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Elahe</FirstName>
        <LastName>Karimpour-razkenari</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Mostafa</FirstName>
        <LastName>Alizadeh Forutan</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Internal Medicine, Ibne Sina Medical and Educational Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Monireh</FirstName>
        <LastName>Ghazaeian</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Infectious Diseases, Ibne Sina Medical and Educational Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran AND Pharmaceutical Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Ebrahim</FirstName>
        <LastName>Salehifar</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Infectious Diseases, Ibne Sina Medical and Educational Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran AND Pharmaceutical Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Mohammad Sadegh</FirstName>
        <LastName>Rezai</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Sahar</FirstName>
        <LastName>Fallah</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Department of Biostatistic, Ibne Sina Medical and Educational Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.</affiliation>
      </Author>
    </AuthorList>
    <History>
      <PubDate PubStatus="received">
        <Year>2021</Year>
        <Month>05</Month>
        <Day>24</Day>
      </PubDate>
      <PubDate PubStatus="accepted">
        <Year>2021</Year>
        <Month>09</Month>
        <Day>04</Day>
      </PubDate>
    </History>
    <abstract locale="en_US">Backgrounds: There is no proven therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so far. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon beta-1b combined with lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine in managing COVID-19.Methods: This is a non-randomized, open-label study on adult patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. The patients (&#x2265; 18 years) received hydroxychloroquine 400 mg single dose, and lopinavir 400 mg/ritonavir 100 mg every 12 h (for 7-10 days) with or without subcutaneous interferon (IFN) beta-1b 250 mcg every other day for e primary outcome was clinical improvement in NEWS2 changes. Duration of hospital stay, mortality rate, and safety profile of therapeutic regimens were secondary outcomes.Results: Between March 20 and April 3, 2020, a total of 114 patients were recruited and 59 patients completed the study. The IFN group had a significant improvement in clinical symptoms due to a significant reduction in NEWS2 (83.3% (25) vs 48.3% (14), P= 0.004). The time to clinical response in the IFN group was shorter than the control group (7 (5-12) days vs 9.5 (7-18), P=0.037). The IFN group also showed a significantly lower rate of 28-day mortality (6.8% (2) vs 34.5% (10), P= 0.01) and a lower need for invasive ventilation (6.8% (2) vs 34.5 (10), P= 0.008). Although the duration of ICU stay was marginally shorter in the IFN group, the results were not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.06).Conclusion: IFN beta-1b could be a potential therapeutic option for patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.&#xA0;</abstract>
    <web_url>https://jpc.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jpc/article/view/423</web_url>
  </Article>
</Articles>
