J Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 23:jiaa446. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa446. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The antiviral drug remdesivir has been shown clinically effective for treatment of COVID-19. We here demonstrate suppressive but not curative effect of remdesivir in an immunocompromised patient. A man in his fifties treated with chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia experienced a 9-week course of COVID-19 with high fever, and severe viral pneumonia. During two 10-day courses of remdesivir starting days 24 and 45 after fever onset, the pneumonia and spiking fevers remitted, but relapsed after discontinuation. Kinetics of temperature, C-reactive protein, and lymphocyte counts mirrored the remitting/relapsing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Combination therapy or longer treatment duration may be needed in immunocompromised patients.
PMID:32702095 | DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiaa446