Early administration of lopinavir/ritonavir plus hydroxychloroquine does not alter the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a retrospective cohort study. 

https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.05.20123299

The aim of this retrospective intent-to-treat analysis of the hospitalized patients  was to compare the rate of clinical improvement between those who started the treatment within five days of symptom onset (early treatment, ET) and those who started later (delayed treatment, DT). The study involved 172 patients: 43 (25%) in the ET and 129 (75%) in the DT group. The rate of clinical improvement increased over time to 73.3% on day 30, without any significant difference between the two groups (Gray’s test P=0.213). After adjusting for potentially relevant clinical variables, there was no significant association between the timing of the start of treatment and the probability of 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] ET vs DT=1.45, 95% confidence interval 0.50-4.19). Eight percent of the patients discontinued the treatment because of severe gastrointestinal disorders attributable to LPV/r. In conclusion, we found that starting LPV/r+HCQ treatment within five days of symptom onset was not associated with a more rapid improvement in the clinical condition of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or a reduced probability of 30-day mortality.

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