Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir can reduce post-COVID Syndrome Risk In Non-Hospitalized Vaccinated Patients

In a recent study published in the medRxiv preprint server, researchers assess the effect of nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (NMV-r) on the onset of post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-infection (PASC) aka long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The global burden of PASC is rising rapidly, which will cause adverse public healthcare and economic impact. NMV-r is now a popular antiviral therapy for outpatient mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases, including unvaccinated patients. 

A recent study assessed the incidence of PASC-related symptoms in people treated with NMV-r. It included 279,380 vaccinated adults above 18 years of age who suffered from COVID-19 infection and received NMV-r within five days of diagnosis and did not seek hospitalization throughout the study duration.

The researchers discovered that only 1,004 individuals received NMV-r within five days of diagnosis. Between 30 to 180 days post-infection (pi), PASC-related symptoms occurred in 42% and 48%of NMV-r and control patients, respectively. NMV-r therapy showed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, or mood disorders but had no marked effects on musculoskeletal and nervous system symptoms. NMV-r therapy also showed a lower association with a narrow definition of a three-symptom cluster of PASC than the control.

The study confirmed that NMV-r therapy could reduce the incidence of most commonly reported PASC-related symptoms, thus, has a promising clinical implication.