Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 rebound after nirmatrelvir-ritonavir or molnupiravir therapy: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

The clinical characteristics of the rebound phenomenon after antiviral therapy in patients with Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) are largely unknown. There are few data comparing the rebound phenomenon after molnupiravir therapy to that after nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy. We investigated the incidence and risk factors associated with COVID-19 rebound after nirmatrelvir-ritonavir or molnupiravir therapy during the Omicron era. This prospective cohort study enrolled patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who received nirmatrelvir-ritonavir or molnupiravir. We conducted weekly questionnaires of symptom scores from day 0 to day 28, with an additional day when patients experienced reappearing symptoms. We defined COVID-19 rebound as when patients experienced a 50% increase in symptom scores compared to the lowest symptom score between days 0 and 14. Among the 150 patients, 93 (62%) and 57 (38%) received nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy and molnupiravir, respectively. Of these, 11 patients (7.3%; 95% CI, 3.1–11.5) experienced COVID-19 rebound. The median duration from antiviral therapy to rebound was 12 days. Patients with clinical rebound had a higher symptom score at antiviral therapy initiation than those without (median, 5 vs 4; P = .02). There was no significant difference in the clinical rebounds associated with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir therapy (5.4% vs 10.5%; P = .39). Approximately one-tenth of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who received antiviral therapy experienced rebound phenomena after treatment. Regardless of antiviral therapy type, high initial symptom scores were associated with a more frequent rebound phenomenon.