The antibiotic azithromycin doesn't reduce the risk of hospitalization, respiratory failure or death in COVID-19 patients, a clinical trial conducted in the U.K. found.
The study, published July 9 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, found that there was no significant difference between participants receiving a high dosage of azithromycin and those not receiving the drug.
Conducted between June 3, 2020, and Jan. 29, the clinical trial included 292 participants with mild to moderate COVID-19 in early stages of the disease who were at high risk of deterioration.
Fifteen of the 145 patients who received 500 milligrams of azithromycin daily were admitted to the hospital or died, and 17 of the 147 patients who didn't get the drug were admitted to the hospital or died.
Previous studies testing azithromycin in COVID-19 patients mainly involved either hospitalized patients with late-stage severe disease, or patients in early stages of the disease with minimal symptoms, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
It's also been tested in combination with hydroxychloroquine, a controversial malaria drug that frequently made national headlines in 2020. Research published in May 2020 in The Lancet showed that cancer patients with COVID-19 who received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin experienced a risk of death 2.89 times greater within 30 days than those who did not receive the drugs.
"In conclusion, our findings in mild to moderate COVID-19 managed in ambulatory care, taken together with trials in early disease in primary care and from trials in patients admitted to hospital with severe disease, suggest that azithromycin does not reduce hospital admissions, respiratory failure or death compared with standard care, and should not be used in the treatment of COVID-19," the study authors wrote.
Find the full study results here.