Role of Favipiravir Therapy in COVID 19 Patients A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

The ongoing global problem of concern is the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With the sudden explosion of the disease, no drugs were experimentally proven in its management. This meta-analysis assessed the role of favipiravir in the management of COVID 19 disease, its efficacy and safety. A comprehensive search of databases including PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, Embase, Google scholar, Lancet, Elsevier and other modalities of search like website searching and citation tracking was made. Out of 687 articles identified, 8 articles were taken for the meta-analysis after several stages of exclusion. Out of the 8 studies selected, the results of 4 studies were in favor of favipiravir, while other 4 studies were against the efficacy of favipiravir. The result of our statistical analysis was that RR=0.9276 (95% CI; 0.6718 to 1.3944) for the effect of favipiravir on mortality reduction in COVID 19 patients. Favipiravir treatment in the early phase of infection (viral replication phase) have shown significant reduction in the viral load and good clinical recovery. It also prevents the progression of disease to critical stage by controlling the infection adequately in the early phase itself. But when the stage of viral replication has passed, there is no role of favipiravir in the management of the COVID 19 disease. Favipiravir has no significant effect on mortality reduction in COVID 19 patients.