Background: Some studies indicate that selenium is essential in the host’s response to viral infections. This study aimed to investigate the effect of selenium administration on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted in Sabzevar in 2020–2021 (registration code: IRCT20160706028815N5) on hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Demographic data, clinical symptoms, and CT scan findings were recorded. The participants were randomly divided into two groups. The control group received standard care based on the latest national treatment protocols for COVID-19. The intervention group received selenium in addition to routine treatment. Clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups using SPSS statistics software. A significance level of 0.05 was considered. Results: Fifty-four patients were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=29) and control (n=25) groups. Twenty-nine men (53.7%) and 25 women (46.3%) were included in the study. The mean and SD of age and body mass index of participants were 58.3±16.8 and 25.8±3.3, respectively. The groups were similar in terms of gender, addiction, smoking, commodities, symptoms, amount of pulmonary parenchyma involvement in the lung CT scan, age, and body mass index. The duration of admission was significantly shorter in the intervention group (P=0.03). There was no significant difference in terms of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and 30- and 90-day mortality rates. Conclusion: The present study showed that the administration of selenium can reduce the duration of the disease. Other clinical outcomes did not show significant differences between the two groups.
Saleh et al. (2026) studied this question.