Introduction:

Subjects with asymptomatic infections are not generally admitted to health care facilities, however, they may benefit from antiviral therapy.

Objective:

To evaluate the contribution to treatment with combined therapy based on recombinant human interferon alpha 2b + Lopinavir/Ritonavir + Chloroquine versus Lopinavir/Ritonavir + Chloroquine in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.

Material and Methods:

An observational study was carried out in patients with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 from April 1st to July 30th, 2020. From a total of 308 patients treated with interferon + Lopinavir/Ritonavir + Chloroquine, we selected a statistically representative sample of 40 patients using a simple randomization process. As a control group, 27 patients who only received treatment with Lopinavir/Ritonavir + Chloroquine were selected. These patients underwent determinations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, determinations of inflammatory markers, and follow-up by RT-PCR to evaluate the time length of negativization.

Results:

The group treated with interferon had a significantly shorter time to negativization. Patients treated with interferon showed a significant decrease in inflammatory markers at the time of hospital discharge and they had an increase in antibody titers at two and four months after hospital discharge, compared to the group of patients who did not receive interferon.

Conclusions:

The treatment with exogenous interferon in patients with COVID-19 had a significant contribution to the regulation of the immune response of the patients.

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