Effective, low-cost therapeutics are needed to prevent and treat COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 disease is linked to excessive inflammation. Disulfiram is an approved oral drug used to treat alcohol use disorder that is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and an inhibitor of the viral proteases. We investigated the potential effects of disulfiram on SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity in an observational study using a large database of clinical records from the national US Veterans Affairs healthcare system. A multivariable Cox regression adjusted for demographic information and diagnosis of alcohol use disorder revealed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection with disulfiram use at a hazard ratio of 0.66 (34% lower risk, 95% confidence interval 24–43%). There were no COVID-19 related deaths among the 188 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients treated with disulfiram, in contrast to 5–6 statistically expected deaths based on the untreated population (P = 0.03). Our epidemiological results suggest that disulfiram may contribute to the reduced incidence and severity of COVID-19. These results support carefully planned clinical trials to assess the potential therapeutic effects of disulfiram in COVID-19.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, clinical trial, SARS-COV-2 infection, disease severity, Diagnosis, alcohol, database, disulfiram, COVID-19 disease, severity of COVID-19, death, epidemiological, Proteases, incidence, inhibitor, information, Healthcare system, anti-inflammatory agent, Support, 95% confidence interval, reduced risk, hazard ratio, lower risk, therapeutic effect, treat, excessive inflammation, disorder, National, multivariable Cox regression, Effect, veteran, Prevent, investigated, approved, reduced, treated, adjusted, contribute, expected, statistically, Affair, SARS-CoV-2 positive patient, 【제목키워드】 disulfiram, retrospective cohort study, lower risk,