On Mar. 31, 2022, researchers in Brazil reported that a study of COVID-19 patients at 12 clinics that used ivermectin an antiparasitic drug didn’t prevent hospital admission compared with those in the placebo group.

A total of 3515 patients were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin (679 patients), placebo (679), or another intervention (2157). Overall, 100 patients (14.7%) in the ivermectin group had a primary-outcome event, as compared with 111 (16.3%) in the placebo group. There were no significant effects of ivermectin use on secondary outcomes or adverse events.

Treatment with ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to a hospital due to progression of Covid-19 or of prolonged emergency department observation among outpatients with an early diagnosis of Covid-19. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.