Abstract

Daryoush Hamidi Alamdari1, Saied Hafizi Lotfabadi1, Ahmad Bagheri Moghaddam1, Mohammad Arastoo2, George Koliakos3 and Bharat Bhushan4

Background: There is currently no consensus on specific pharmacological treatments for COVID-19 and there is debate about the efficacy and safety of antiviral drugs. This study verified the effect of the reduced form of Methylene blue (MB) as the last option of treatment to rescue patients who did not respond to Remdesivir, Interferon-β, and Favipiravir therapies. Procedures: Twenty hospitalized severe COVID-19 patients (who failed to respond to Remdesivir, Interferon-β, and Favipiravir) were administered oral MB (1 mg/kg every 8 hours for two days, followed by 1mg/kg every 12 hours for the next days). Main Finding: Eighteen patients recovered completely, and two patients did not survive. Conclusions: MB can be used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. For the treatment of COVID-19 patients, in addition to fluid therapy and oxygen support, different types of drugs are required simultaneously, such as anti-viral agents, antibiotics, anticoagulants, immunomodulatory drugs, and antioxidants. MB possesses all of these properties along with anti-hypoxemia and anti-respiratory distress features and can therefore be included in the clinical management of COVID-19.