Journal of Contemporary Medicine, vol.12, no.2, pp.182-188, 2022 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Objective: In this retrospective observational study, we aimed to investigate the COVID 19 treatment protocols applied in our hospital in terms of side effects and 28-day mortality. Methods: All 621 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 and treated with any drugs were included in the study. Inclusion criteria for patients were hospitalization with COVID-19 diagnosis and being over 18 years old. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to the treatments against COVID-19: Group 1 (only favipiravir), Group 2 (hydroxychloroquine (HQ)+ Azithromycin (AZ), Group 3 (only HQ), and Group 4 (HCQ+AZ +antibiotics). The gender, age, medications, underlying comorbidities, possible side effects due to the treatments (cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity), and mortality rates were evaluated. Results: There was no difference in terms of side effects between treatment groups. Mortality rates were lowest in the HQ+AZ group. HCQ+AZ treatment was the most effective treatment protocol. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that the higher mortality rate due to favipiravir may be due to the administration of this drug only to critically ill patients during the initial period of the pandemic.