Conclusion:
This study showed that lopinavir plus doxycycline therapy is an effective treatment amongst moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.
Key words : Lopinavir; Faviprevir ; Doxycycline ; COVID-19 ; Coronavirus ; Hydroxychloroquine

INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has collapsed the infrastructure and health care systems of countries worldwide.1 Currently, there is no approved treatment for COVID-19. Hence, efforts for the development and repurposing of efficient and effective medications are ongoing.2
A protease inhibitor, lopinavir (LPV), had been associated with reduced mortality and morbidity rate in clinical studies during the SARS and MERS outbreaks.3,4 The main proteases of SARS-COV and SARS-COV-2 are 96% identical, and in silico studies have shown that HIV protease inhibitors can inhibit coronavirus protease.5Clinical trials of the antiviral efficacy of drugs, including LPV, have been registered and are ongoing with regard to COVID-19.6 However, while randomized clinical trials are continuing, observational data are also urgently needed to assess the efficacy and safety of this antiviral drug in COVID-19 treatment.
The scientific committee of the Turkish Health Ministry currently recommends hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) plus azithromycin or favipiravir (FVP) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The recommendations of the committee are widely applied. However, to our knowledge at least one Turkish medical center exclusively uses LPV in combination with the medication doxycycline in the management of moderate to severe COVID-19 cases. Comparing clinical outcomes of various anti-viral regimens is of scientific interest.
In this study, we compared the outcomes between patients who were treated with LPV in combination with doxycycline at one medical center and the patients treated with other antivirals regimens at another medical center.

OBJECTIVES