Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Fluvoxamine in COVID-19 Patients: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
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https://doi.org/10.71079/ASIDE.IM.07172586Abstract
Introduction: Fluvoxamine is an agonist for the sigma-1 receptor, through which it controls inflammation. It helps reduce the cytokine storm associated with the COVID-19 virus by regulating the production of IL-6 and gene expression. This review of systematic reviews (SRs) aims to summarize the effects of fluvoxamine in treatment of COVID-19.
Methods: This umbrella review (CRD42025592203) of SRs and meta-analyses investigated the safety and efficacy of fluvoxamine for treatment in COVID-19 patients, irrespective of disease severity and age. Comprehensive searches were conducted from inception to December 12, 2024, covering PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, Google Scholar, and Cochrane COVID-19 resources. A qualitative synthesis of evidence was performed. The AMSTAR2 tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included SRs.
Results: Eleven reviews published in 12 publications that reported the use of fluvoxamine in COVID-19 patients were finally included as part of the synthesis. The studies reported a lower mortality rate with fluvoxamine than with placebo, but only four studies reported statistical significance. Five reported a statistically significant reduction in hospitalization risk for patients treated with fluvoxamine compared to controls. Only one review evaluated COVID-19 progression, reporting a non-significant decrease in the risk of disease progression with fluvoxamine compared to placebo. Higher dosages of fluvoxamine compared to lower doses yielded better outcomes.
Conclusion: Although fluvoxamine may have potential benefits in reducing COVID-19-associated mortality and hospitalization, our findings do not support a significant role in preventing disease progression or clinical deterioration. Further research is needed to compare the efficacies of different dosages.
Keywords:
Fluvoxamine, COVID-19, Cytokine storm, IL-6, Hospitalization, Disease progressionReferences
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Data Availability Statement
All studies used in the research are available in various databases.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Omar Irfan, Muhammad Jansher, Wania Moeen, Muhammad Sohaib Khan, Muhammad Bin Hammad, Rubaid Dhillon, Nabira Khan, Abia Abdullah, Mohammad Aadil Qamar, Ayesha Rashid, Javaid Ahmed Khan, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi
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Article history
- Received
- 30 Apr 2025
- Received in revised form
- 18 Jun 2025
- Accepted
- 4 Jul 2025
- Published
- 17 Jul 2025
