ACTT-1

Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19- Preliminary Report of the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT)
John H. Beigel et al. New England Journal of Medicine; May 22nd 2020; doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2007764

Clinical Question
-  In hospitalised adult patients with evidence of lower respiratory tract infection due to Covid-19, is remdesivir superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery?

N = 1063, 10 countries

Authors’ Conclusions
-  These preliminary findings support the use of remdesivir for patients who are hospitalised with Covid-19 and require supplemental oxygen therapy. However, given high mortality despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not likely to be sufficient

The Bottom Line
-  Remdesivir may be effective in shortening the time to recovery in hospitalised patients with Covid-19 infection, particularly those patients who require oxygen therapy only
-  It is unclear how clinically relevant this result is, particularly in view of the methodological limitations of the study and the lack of long-term outcome data