SynthesisQJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians2021
Efficacy and safety of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Ivermectin under scrutiny: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy and possible sources of controversies in COVID-19 patients.Virology journal · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of cyclosporine A in moderate to severe COVID-19: a randomized, open-label trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Navigating Therapeutic Frontiers: A Meta-review and Meta-analysis of COVID-19 Treatment Options.Journal of research in pharmacy practice · 2026Review
- The impact of ivermectin on COVID-19 outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Efficacy and safety of casirivimab and imdevimab for preventing and treating COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of thoracic disease · 2024Article
- Review
- Automated Paper Screening for Clinical Reviews Using Large Language Models: Data Analysis Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Chinese herbal medicine Shufeng Jiedu capsule for mild to moderate COVID-19: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Self-Medication Including Antibiotics among Health Care Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Pakistan: Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic across Africa: Current Status of Vaccinations and Implications for the Future.Vaccines · 2022Article
- Ivermectin: A Controversial Focal Point during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Covid-19, an unfinished story.Presse medicale (Paris, France : 1983) · 2022Article
- Co-Infections, Secondary Infections, and Antimicrobial Use in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 during the First Five Waves of the Pandemic in Pakistan; Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2: Receptor and Co-receptor Tropism Probability.Current microbiology · 2022Review
- Review
- AKR1B10, One of the Triggers of Cytokine Storm in SARS-CoV2 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Multipurpose Drugs Active Against BothFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Ivermectin as a Treatment Modality in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Up-To-Date RCTs.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineReview
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIvermectin became a popular choice for COVID-19 treatment among clinicians and the public following encouraging results from pre-print trials and in vitro studies. Early reviews recommended the use of ivermectin based largely on non-peer-reviewed evidence, which may not be robust. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the efficacy and safety of ivermectin for treating COVID-19 based on peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies (OSs).
methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE and PubMed were searched from 1 January 2020 to 1 September 2021 for relevant studies. Outcomes included time to viral clearance, duration of hospitalization, mortality, incidence of mechanical ventilation and incidence of adverse events. RoB2 and ROBINS-I were used to assess risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. GRADE was used to evaluate quality of evidence.
resultsThree OSs and 14 RCTs were included in the review. Most RCTs were rated as having some concerns in regards to risk of bias, while OSs were mainly rated as having a moderate risk of bias. Based on meta-analysis of RCTs, the use of ivermectin was not associated with reduction in time to viral clearance, duration of hospitalization, incidence of mortality and incidence of mechanical ventilation. Ivermectin did not significantly increase incidence of adverse events. Meta-analysis of OSs agrees with findings from RCT studies.
conclusionsBased on very low to moderate quality of evidence, ivermectin was not efficacious at managing COVID-19. Its safety profile permits its use in trial settings to further clarify its role in COVID-19 treatment. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The review was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021275302).
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.