Exposure to valproic acid is associated with less pulmonary infiltrates and improvements in diverse clinical outcomes and laboratory parameters in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Abstract

Valproic acid (VPA) has shown beneficial effects in vitro against SARS-CoV-2 infection, but no study has analyzed its efficacy in the clinical setting. This multicenter, retrospective study included 165 adult patients receiving VPA at the time of admission to hospital, and 330 controls matched for sex, age and date of admission. A number of clinical, outcome and laboratory parameters were recorded to evaluate differences between the two groups. Four major clinical endpoints were considered: development of lung infiltrates, in-hospital respiratory worsening, ICU admissions and death. VPA-treated patients had higher lymphocyte (P VPA-treated patients seem to develop less serious COVID-19 than control patients, according to diverse clinical endpoints and laboratory markers.