LAUSR

Objectives At present, there is an absence of any proven effective anti-viral therapy for COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in non-severe patients with COVID-19. Methods A retrospective study based on propensity score matching (PSM) was designed. Primary outcomes included severity rate and mortality. Secondary outcomes included the duration of fever, virus clearance time, length of hospital stays, and use of antibiotics. Results 639 non-severe patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. 45 patients received IVIg therapy and 594 received non-IVIg therapy. After PSM (1:2 ration), the baseline characteristics were well balanced between IVIg (n = 45) and control group (n = 90). No statistically significant differences were found between IVIg group and control group in the duration of fever (median, 3 vs 3 days, p = 0.667), virus clearance time (median, 11 vs 10 days, p = 0.288), length of hospital stay (median, 14 vs 13 days, p = 0.469), and the use of antibiotics (40% vs 38.9%, p = 0.901). Meanwhile, compared to IVIg group, no more patients progressed to severe cases (3.3% vs 6.6%, p = 0.376) and died (0 vs 2.2%, p = 0.156) in control group. Conclusion In non-severe patients with COVID-19, no benefit was observed with IVIg therapy beyond standard therapy.