Effect of azoximer bromide on the severity of clinical manifestations in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection

We are now observing a constantly growing number of patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection who have active complains for more than 12 weeks. Long-term consequences of the disease significantly impair the quality of life and lead to an overburdened healthcare system, which, in the absence of effective therapeutic strategies, has a significant impact on the quality of medical care. This article discusses the main aspects of pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of post-COVID syndrome, as well as the experience of pharmacological correction of this condition. Objective. To evaluate the effect of azoximer bromide on the resolution of post-COVID syndrome by assessing the duration and severity of the main symptoms within 10 days since treatment initiation, as well as the level of chronic fatigue. Patients and methods. This study included 90 patients (both males and females). The experimental group comprised 55 individuals who received azoximer bromide for 10 days according to the package insert. The control group included 35 individuals who received no therapy. Treatment efficacy was evaluated using special questionnaires; Student's t-test and Pearson's chi-squared test were used for statistical analysis. Results. We found that significantly fewer patients from the experimental group had joint and muscle pain and headache on day 10 of the experiment than patients in the control group. Hyposmia was also less common in the experimental group then in controls by day 10. There was a significant decrease in the severity of headache, joint and muscle pain, attention impairment, dizziness, anosmia among patients receiving azoximer bromide by day 10 compared to those receiving no therapy. Patients in the experimental group also demonstrated significantly less severe fatigue compared to controls as early as day 5 of the experiment. No adverse events were registered during the study. Conclusion. Azoximer bromide demonstrated its clinical efficacy and safety in the treatment of post-COVID syndrome. Key words: SARS-CoV-2, post-COVID syndrome, fatigue, shortness of breath, smell and taste disorders