Therapeutic Effect of Vitamin A Administration on Disease Severity in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Pilot Open-Labeled Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Considering the high prevalence of the COVID-19 worldwide and since there is no effective treatment for it, the employment of complementary treatments without side effects is highlighted. So, this clinical trial aimed to assess if vitamin A injection decreases disease severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: In this pilot open-labeled randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), 18 patients were instructed to take a daily dose of intramuscular vitamin A (maximum of 14 days), and 18 patients continued their common treatment protocols. For predicting mortality risk, we used the Coronavirus Clinical Characterization Consortium (4C) score. This score predicts mortality in hospitalized patients based on demographic and physiologic parameters. Based on this score, the patients were classified into four groups from low-risk to extremely high-risk groups. Results: The included participants were aged 61.43±13.54 years, and 38.8% of them were female. The findings indicated no significant differences between groups regarding baseline characteristics. In the vitamin A group, the mean 4C score was 6.86±3.37 before the study which reduced insignificantly to 6.8±3.34 at the end of the study. In the control group, the mean 4C score increased insignificantly from 7.21±2.72 to 7.28±2.39. Furthermore, the result of the one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that after adjusting for baseline values, the differences between groups are not significant. Conclusion: Based on the results, this study showed no significant effect of vitamin A on COVID-19 severity.