On Feb. 20, 2023, results from a randomized clinical trial of Ivermectin in a higher-hose and longer duration do not support the use of ivermectin among outpatients with COVID-19.

In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled platform trial that included 1,432 US adults with COVID-19 during February 2022 to July 2022, the median time to sustained recovery was 11 days in the ivermectin group and 12 days in the placebo group. In this largely vaccinated (83%) population, the posterior probability that ivermectin reduced symptom duration by more than 1 day was less than 0.1%.

Among outpatients with mild or moderate COVID-19, treatment with ivermectin, with a targeted maximum dose of 600 μg/kg daily for 6 days, was not shown to improve time to sustained recovery compared with placebo. These findings do not support the use of ivermectin in outpatients with COVID-19.

Ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug used worldwide for onchocerciasis and strongyloidiasis, emerged in 2020 as a potential repurposed drug for COVID-19 initially informed by an in vitro study suggesting possible antiviral activity.

The interest for ivermectin as a therapy for COVID-19 has remained high and, although there have been numerous ivermectin studies, its use has become controversial due to a lack of high-quality adequately powered randomized trials and article retractions of some of the earlier and most positive studies.

The study results were published on JAMA Network.