- Researchers say Paxlovid and other antiviral medications can help even people with mild COVID-19 symptoms avoid serious illness.
- They cautioned, however, that novel coronavirus is constantly changing, so scientists will need to stay on top of new treatments.
- They also note that people who are taking certain other medications and supplements should consult with their doctor before taking Paxlovid.
实际上，一个新研究报道说，与未开处方的Paxlovid的人相比，患有Covid-19的患者住院的可能性少5倍，死于该疾病的可能性少10倍。
在美国，只有患有较高风险的患者患有严重的Covid-19，目前才有资格接受该药物。
Now, another新研究suggests that expanding eligibility to include all people with COVID-19 could benefit everyone.
Canadian researchers studied 41 trials that covered more than 18,000 people with non-severe COVID-19. They reported that taking Paxlovid likely led to 46 fewer hospital admissions per 1,000 cases compared to people who received standard care or a placebo.
研究人员还发现抗病毒药物molnupiravir每1000名患者的入院率少16个，也可能有些有益。
“Because antiviral drugs may be most useful in non-severe disease, this review addresses an important gap in evidence,”Tyler Pitre，一位主要研究作者和安大略省麦克马斯特大学的内科居民新闻稿。
博士，吉米·约翰内斯加利福尼亚纪念馆长滩医疗中心的肺科医生和重症监护医学专家说，这些发现并不令他感到惊讶。
“These findings are in line with my expectations based on the pivotal clinical trials for both Paxlovid and molnupiravir,” he told Healthline.
他继续说：“我认为，公众和医疗保健提供者之间需要更加认识到这些抗病毒治疗可用。”“还需要意识到，这些治疗方法在19 Covid-19感染过程中最有效。因此，早期测试确认Covid-19感染是关键。此外，我认为卫生系统将需要找到有效的方法来促进捕获Covid-19的高危人士早期获得Paxlovid的机会。”
But meta-analyses have limitations, experts caution, and the speed of COVID-19’s mutations means we don’t know that results that were true for one variant of the virus — in this case, primarily last year’s Delta variant — are valid for another.
“Meta-analysis can be useful when cost and logistical constraints prevent studying large groups of patients for long periods of time looking for rare events,” said大卫·卡特勒博士, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California. “But it also introduces many sources for error and findings must be interpreted with caution.”
在一个评论in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, where this study was published, reviewers noted much the same, highlighting the crucial importance of vaccination status as a primary prophylactic against severe COVID-19.
他们写道：“在现实环境中，[Paxlovid]的效率可能不如相关网络荟萃分析的发现所建议的。”“最近的一项观察性研究，研究了感染Omicron的接种疫苗患者，没有证据表明[Paxlovid]的有效性，该研究得出结论认为它有效减少了严重的Covid-19。”
However, they noted that another story indicated that “vaccination alone was as or more effective than [Paxlovid] and that the effectiveness of [Paxlovid] did not vary by vaccination status.”
他们还指出，Paxlovid制造商辉瑞最近停止了trial of vaccinated individuals由于标准风险人口的住院率低或死亡率。
Experts say another reason doctors must be cautious in prescribing Paxlovid is its large number of interactions with other drugs and supplements.
卡特勒说：“由于与许多常用药物的潜在严重相互作用，paxlovid的总体可用性需要受到限制。”“这意味着在安全处方Paxlovid之前，需要对患者使用草药，维生素和补充剂以及处方药进行审查。”
But whether or not Paxlovid’s availability is expanded in the United States, experts say antivirals will remain a piece of our COVID-fighting arsenal.
“我不知道抗病毒治疗是否有助于控制和控制Covid-19。但是我认为，他们将在允许我们与Covid-19，治疗Covid-19并预防严重疾病或住院的情况下至关重要，尤其是在住院风险最高的情况下，将很重要。”约翰内斯说。
