Anti-inflammatory Effect of Metronidazole in Hospitalized Patients with Pneumonia due to COVID-19

Metronidazole (MTZ) can decrease the levels of several cytokines. This research aimed at the investigation of the anti-inflammatory impact of MTZ in COVID-19. A randomized, single-blind clinical trial for comparing the anti-inflammatory effect of MTZ in two eligible groups of adult patients with lower respiratory tract involvement due to Covid-19 treated with a standard national method with or without MTZ was performed. Inflammatory markers were measured as the primary outcome in two groups. Oxygen saturation, length of hospital stays, and mortality of patients were evaluated as secondary outcomes. Among 44 patients with lower respiratory tract due to Covid-19, 20(45.5%) were randomly allocated in group A with the current standard treatment plus the MTZ tablet for 7 days orally and 24 (54.5%) in group B with the current standard treatment. The mean of ESR in group A was statistically significantly lower than that of group B on the seventh day (A: 38.25 +/- 18.75 vs. B: 47.67 +/- 26.41, p = 0.02). Moreover, the mean of IL6 diminished significantly in both A (p = 0.01) and B (p = 0.01) groups on the seventh day compared to the first day. The decrease of TNF was not significant in any of the groups A (p = 0.3) and B (p = 0.4) from the 7th day to the first day. No significant difference was not found between group A and group B groups on the CRP level (p = 0.1). Findings of this study showed the anti-inflammatory impact of MTZ in the patient with lower respiratory inflammation due to COVID-19.