Azithromycin for community treatment of suspected COVID-19 in people at increased risk of an adverse clinical course in the UK (PRINCIPLE): a randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial
Findings from the PRINCIPLE platform trial show azithromycin did not improve in median time to self-reported recovery (estimated benefit 0.94 days; 95% Bayesian credibility interval −0.56 to 2.43) in this population, when compared to usual care ± other interventions.
Source:
The Lancet
SPS commentary:
The authors discuss three other randomised trials of azithromycin in the treatment of Covid-19, all of which investigated its use as a treatment in hospitalised patients. They conclude that the evidence to date suggests azithromycin is not a sufficiently effective treatment to justify its routine use for the treatment of COVID-19, neither in the community nor in hospitals. These findings have important antibiotic stewardship implications, as there is evidence that azithromycin use increased in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic.