Data show low level of COVID rebound with Paxlovid

A study of nearly 500 high-risk patients treated with Paxlovid for their COVID-19 infections found that only a few had rebound symptoms, Mayo Clinic researchers reported today in Clinical Infectious Diseases.Paxlovid treatment has gained traction over the past few months, but it has come with increasing reports of rebound infections from patients and their providers.

Though the study found only a few patients with rebound symptoms, the authors were able to find some clues about possible risk factors for rebound.It was conducted before the recent Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were circulating broadly.Mild rebound symptoms, patients recoveredPaxlovid, made by Pfizer, is a two-drug regimen (nirmatrelivir and ritonavir) taken together twice a day for 5 days.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for emergency use on Dec 22, 2021, for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection in people at higher risk for severe disease.Supplies were limited through January, but now, it's more accessible.The retrospective review included 483 high-risk patients who received the drug at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, through an outpatient COVID-19 treatment program.

Eligibility for Paxlovid was assessed according to FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) criteria.Bob Nellis, with the Mayo Clinic's public affairs department, said the patients were treated from February 2022 through April 2022.