Previous studies in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients have shown that the treatment reduces viral load, shortens the time to resolution of symptoms, and significantly reduces the risk of hospitalisation or death. RECOVERY is the first trial large enough to determine definitively whether this treatment reduces mortality in patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19. Thus, for every 100 such patients treated with the antibody combination, there would be six fewer deaths. There was clear evidence that the effect of treatment in seronegative patients differed from that in seropositive patients (test for heterogeneity p=0·001). That is excellent news – it is the first time that any antiviral treatment has been shown to save lives in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
