Editor's Note <\/p>\n\n\n\n
February 20, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ACochrane meta-analysis of 11 eligible trials examining the efficacy of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 published through April 2022 concluded that ivermectin has no beneficial effect for people with COVID-19.1<\/a><\/sup> Since May 2022, an additional 3 large randomized clinical trials including several thousand participants have been published, each reaching a similar conclusion.2<\/a><\/sup>-4<\/a><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Today JAMA<\/em> publishes a new trial of ivermectin treatment for mild to moderate COVID-19 that addresses the possibility that the existing literature may have missed the efficacy of ivermectin because the previously tested dose (approximately 400 \u03bcg\/kg daily for 3 days) was insufficient.5<\/a><\/sup> At a higher treatment dose (600 \u03bcg\/kg daily) and longer treatment duration (6 days), Naggie and colleagues again conclude that ivermectin is not beneficial for the treatment of COVID-19.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the doses and durations tested in these studies, ivermectin does not appear to be associated with serious adverse effects. However, a generally well-tolerated therapy that lacks efficacy can still be dangerous, particularly if it results in patients forgoing other interventions with proven efficacy, such as evidence-based COVID-19 treatments6<\/a><\/sup> or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Ivermectin has been used throughout the pandemic.7<\/a><\/sup> Although the current prevalence of ivermectin use in the US and globally is difficult to determine, reports in the lay media as well as our own experience as clinicians suggest that use of ivermectin for COVID-19 has not fully abated, fueled in part by real or perceived lack of access to effective therapies, continued confusion or misinformation, and active disinformation about ivermectin\u2019s efficacy, including by physicians.8<\/a><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n