Hydroxychloroquine, Nitazoxanide, and Ivermectin Have Similar Effects in Early COVID-19: A Head-to-Head Comparison of the Pre-AndroCoV Trial

Three years ago, a study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, nitazoxanide, and ivermectin in treating early COVID-19. The study, known as the pre-AndroCoV trial, included 585 participants, 270 females and 305 males, who had confirmed COVID-19 and had been experiencing symptoms for less than seven days. The participants were given one of the three drugs in combination with azithromycin, and optional addition of vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. The results showed that all three drugs had similar effects in terms of disease duration, recovery speed, and positive rtPCR-SARS-CoV-2 duration. None of the patients required hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or died, and only 1.5% had persistent symptoms after recovery. The study concluded that all three drugs were similarly effective when used within seven days of symptom onset and were superior to no treatment. Among the three, nitazoxanide demonstrated the strongest broad-spectrum antiviral activity and safety profile.