Summary of the effects (Severe) of all available interventions compared to standard care

The information presented in the figure below comes from a living network meta-analysis that combines all the available evidence on drug therapies for COVID-19. This statistical approach allows us to obtain estimates of effect for all potential comparisons, even those that have not been compared head-to-head in trials. We present the most trustworthy estimates of absolute effect for all available drug therapies for COVID-19 versus standard care. The colours distinguish between the most beneficial and harmful interventions compared to standard care, while the shading of cells indicates the certainty of the evidence of a particular drug based on the GRADE approach.

High/ moderate certainty

Low certainty

Very low certainty

No Evidence

Among the most
beneficial

Intermediate
benefit

Not convincingly
different
than standard care

Intermediate
harm

Among the most
harmful

Baseline risk tooltip
Minimal important difference tooltip
Mortality
Mechanical ventilation
Adverse events^
Venous thromboembolism
Clinically important bleeding
Length of hospital stay
Time to symptom resolution
Intervention
Mortality
Baseline risk
 0.003 per 1000 
0.02 per 1000  
-  
0.008 per 1000  
0.003 per 1000  
 - 
 9 days 
darkgrey2
darkgrey2
Minimal important difference
10 per 1000
15 per 1000
20 per 1000
20 per 1000
20 per 1000
1 day
1 day
darkgrey2
darkgrey2
(hydroxy)chloroquine
ACEi/ARB
anti-IL6
aspirin
aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitor, statins
astegolimab
avdoralimab
cephalosporins
colchicine
colchicine, HIV reverse transcriptase, statin
colchicine, statin
corticosteroid, macrolide antibiotics, NSAID
corticosteroids (systemic)
corticosteroids (systemic), IL6 receptor antagonists
efmarodocokin alfa
favipiravir
favipiravir, hydrochloroquine
garadacimab
GM-CSF inhibitor
HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor
hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir
IL1 inhibitors
IL6 receptor antagonists
IL6 receptor antagonists, remdesivir
inhaled corticosteroids
inhaled pan-JAK inhibitor
interferon beta (nebulised)
interferon beta (subcutaneous)
interferon beta (subcutaneous), lopinavir-ritonavir
interferon beta (subcutaneous), remdesivir
intermediate-dose anticoagulation
ivermectin
JAK inhibitors
leflunomide
leukotriene receptor antagonists
lopinavir-ritonavir
macrolide antibiotics
macrolide antibiotics, NSAID
metronidazole
molnupiravir
NSAIDs
opaganib
P2Y12 inhibitor
ravulizumab
remdesivir
rhG-CSF
serine protease inhibitors
statins
tetracyclines
therapeutic-dose anticoagulation
TNF inhibitors
tyrosine kinase inhibitors
umifenovir
vilobelimab
vitamin C
vitamin D
Mortality Mechanical ventilation Adverse events^ Venous thromboembolism Clinically important bleeding Length of hospital stay Time to symptom resolution Intervention Mortality
13.68 (-11.71 to 41.74)
28.54 (-0.24 to 61.85)
0.04 (0.01 to 0.07)
2.880 (0.920 to 4.870)
0.880 (-1.120 to 3.180)
white
yellow
20.56 (-27.55 to 75.77)
-1.05 (-41.54 to 46.15)
0.0 (-0.03 to 0.03)
1.220 (-1.540 to 3.980)
white
yellow2
-14.69 (-66.55 to 52.5)
white
yellow
-6.33 (-33.97 to 25.06)
-9.19 (-37.56 to 22.24)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.05)
-3.83 (-20.1 to 18.8)
10.1 (-4.7 to 29.42)
-0.330 (-1.680 to 1.010) tooltip
white
yellow
-30.75 (-95.39 to 64.57)
0.03 (-0.03 to 0.08)
white
grey
10.98 (-71.29 to 130.35)
32.03 (-47.09 to 140.06)
-0.01 (-0.07 to 0.05)
1.000 (-5.910 to 7.890)
1.310 (-3.190 to 7.700)
white
yellow2
128.21 (-4.82 to 301.31)
white
yellow2
282.12 (-153.19 to 846.81)
-3.010 (-5.210 to -0.100)
white
grey
-6.27 (-33.08 to 20.86)
-10.18 (-37.27 to 18.1)
0.01 (-0.01 to 0.04)
-0.550 (-2.960 to 1.850)
white
yellow
-40.77 (-97.95 to 43.04)
-51.65 (-103.83 to 26.02)
0.02 (-0.03 to 0.08)
0.170 (-1.410 to 1.740) tooltip
white
yellow2
8.32 (-60.49 to 101.78)
19.67 (-51.62 to 113.12)
0.01 (-0.03 to 0.04)
-0.430 (-1.350 to 0.530) tooltip
white
yellow2
-37.91 (-127.62 to 147.81)
-19.35 (-140.58 to 268.2)
white
yellow3
-29.55 (-50.6 to -6.21)
-28.49 (-72.8 to 28.77) tooltip
0.01 (-0.05 to 0.06)
0.240 (-1.000 to 1.800) tooltip
0.470 (-1.770 to 3.310)
white
green
-23.32 (-41.2 to -2.52)
-26.12 (-43.81 to -5.61)
-0.01 (-0.03 to 0.02)
-3.440 (-5.350 to -1.520)
-1.400 (-3.070 to 0.580)
white
green
-5.48 (-80.98 to 105.66)
1.77 (-66.12 to 97.16)
-0.01 (-0.07 to 0.05)
0.010 (-7.050 to 7.120)
0.300 (-3.890 to 6.290)
white
yellow2
-10.22 (-55.2 to 45.52)
14.48 (-27.94 to 64.71)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.05)
-0.360 (-4.080 to 3.340)
-0.580 (-2.300 to 1.410)
white
yellow3
3.55 (-84.86 to 140.49)
19.4 (-66.51 to 141.06)
0.990 (-5.390 to 7.440)
2.860 (-6.490 to 37.070) tooltip
white
yellow4
-91.64 (-145.27 to 38.12)
white
white
-16.0 (-47.25 to 19.23)
-48.5 (-85.0 to -1.28)
0.02 (-0.04 to 0.08)
-0.100 (-1.130 to 0.930) tooltip
-1.160 (-2.500 to 0.330)
white
yellow
2.57 (-64.32 to 94.32)
-16.97 (-69.35 to 51.99)
0.01 (-0.03 to 0.04)
-0.060 (-1.670 to 1.470) tooltip
white
yellow2
115.64 (-24.37 to 300.77)
139.96 (-8.68 to 340.25)
white
yellow3
10.82 (-23.0 to 47.56)
12.33 (-22.78 to 52.06)
0.02 (-0.01 to 0.06)
1.850 (-0.580 to 4.200)
0.230 (-2.200 to 3.120)
white
yellow
-15.34 (-36.44 to 6.93)
-53.05 (-77.44 to -23.78)
0.0 (-0.03 to 0.04)
-0.550 (-2.820 to 1.690)
-0.070 (-2.400 to 2.930) tooltip
white
yellow
-49.8 (-104.47 to 32.89)
-3.310 (-10.030 to 3.380)
-2.970 (-5.350 to 0.410)
white
yellow2
70.48 (-74.01 to 292.75)
-72.3 (-136.84 to 63.22)
white
grey
-91.04 (-133.48 to -15.75)
-91.71 (-130.67 to -23.54)
0.03 (-0.03 to 0.08)
-0.760 (-3.640 to 2.990)
white
green3
-3.45 (-54.9 to 62.18)
51.9 (-31.36 to 161.01)
0.0 (-0.04 to 0.04)
-0.670 (-2.130 to 0.540) tooltip
-0.410 (-2.920 to 2.760)
white
yellow2
-1.72 (-43.53 to 40.75)
4.49 (-32.25 to 46.25)
0.0 (-0.04 to 0.05)
2.650 (0.070 to 5.310)
-1.740 (-3.330 to 0.150)
white
yellow2
74.65 (-28.25 to 205.31)
56.96 (-15.81 to 146.73)
0.28 (0.19 to 0.37)
5.000 (3.120 to 6.880) tooltip
2.280 (-1.040 to 6.500)
white
yellow2
183.59 (-153.19 to 846.81)
-127.21 (-150.54 to -53.94)
0.01 (-0.05 to 0.07)
-4.270 (-6.090 to -1.940)
white
grey
3.89 (-30.88 to 46.05) tooltip
29.93 (-40.89 to 117.65)
-0.01 (-0.06 to 0.04)
-22.08 (-37.32 to -1.62)
19.07 (1.84 to 43.28)
0.480 (-0.480 to 1.680) tooltip
1.320 (-2.060 to 5.670)
white
yellow
17.17 (-76.92 to 176.11) tooltip
11.27 (-68.62 to 122.06)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.05)
-0.420 (-1.600 to 1.050) tooltip
-1.320 (-3.970 to 2.140)
white
yellow2
-35.34 (-56.09 to -13.93)
-36.68 (-58.01 to -14.72)
0.01 (-0.01 to 0.03)
-0.500 (-2.370 to 1.380)
-1.010 (-2.140 to 0.230)
white
green
6.45 (-96.22 to 174.2)
-26.66 (-124.84 to 167.1)
-0.730 (-3.190 to 2.350)
white
yellow2
-153.09 (-153.19 to -153.05)
-1.220 (-2.790 to 0.380) tooltip
white
grey
2.57 (-24.57 to 33.76)
10.83 (-15.72 to 38.51)
0.1 (0.03 to 0.17)
1.230 (-1.220 to 3.660)
0.640 (-1.130 to 2.740)
white
yellow
-3.12 (-38.17 to 37.24)
-6.97 (-36.89 to 26.6)
-0.570 (-1.440 to 0.360) tooltip
-1.920 (-4.280 to 1.080)
white
yellow
16.99 (-105.61 to 236.93)
-81.7 (-149.71 to 141.38)
white
yellow2
0.57 (0.42 to 0.72)
white
white
415.41 (3.67 to 815.39)
-15.23 (-103.5 to 154.96)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.05)
0.150 (-2.940 to 4.160)
white
grey
158.03 (-9.36 to 381.6)
white
grey
-7.44 (-66.84 to 71.31)
-9.01 (-62.06 to 60.9)
0.02 (-0.04 to 0.08)
-0.290 (-2.750 to 2.180) tooltip
-0.870 (-3.710 to 2.790)
white
yellow2
-12.11 (-42.09 to 22.74)
22.1 (-32.58 to 89.37)
0.17 (0.09 to 0.25)
-15.32 (-32.51 to 8.87)
8.91 (-5.29 to 30.73)
white
yellow
-33.24 (-90.45 to 46.74)
53.28 (-42.66 to 181.27)
0.970 (-0.560 to 2.500) tooltip
-0.430 (-2.830 to 2.520)
white
yellow2
-8.85 (-34.72 to 21.4)
-20.94 (-43.2 to 4.02)
0.01 (-0.03 to 0.04)
-0.170 (-2.770 to 2.400)
-1.580 (-3.120 to 0.130)
white
yellow
-99.29 (-135.11 to -37.73)
-107.18 (-127.85 to -75.98)
-0.650 (-2.120 to 0.820) tooltip
-0.610 (-3.200 to 2.630)
white
grey
-39.06 (-108.59 to 69.04)
174.07 (-41.6 to 532.92)
0.01 (-0.04 to 0.07)
-0.130 (-1.400 to 1.180) tooltip
-0.660 (-2.630 to 1.630)
white
yellow2
-14.3 (-44.81 to 22.71)
-8.71 (-43.83 to 29.45)
0.0 (-0.04 to 0.03)
-1.630 (-4.690 to 1.430)
white
yellow
1.63 (-78.38 to 119.08)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.05)
0.000 (-1.740 to 1.740) tooltip
white
grey
-16.55 (-38.12 to 7.13)
-43.28 (-66.81 to -16.45)
0.02 (-0.02 to 0.06)
-30.74 (-38.95 to -20.85)
37.82 (18.26 to 64.34)
0.030 (-0.500 to 0.620) tooltip
0.560 (-2.670 to 4.710)
white
yellow
-37.13 (-79.31 to 18.53)
2.190 (-1.280 to 6.690)
white
yellow2
-57.67 (-99.22 to 0.52)
-12.32 (-66.44 to 60.5)
0.02 (-0.01 to 0.06)
0.170 (-0.850 to 1.180) tooltip
white
yellow2
-43.94 (-107.28 to 54.45)
68.16 (-46.28 to 232.42)
0.01 (-0.04 to 0.06)
-1.100 (-5.370 to 3.150)
white
grey
-49.73 (-92.08 to 7.59)
0.01 (-0.04 to 0.06)
white
yellow2
-14.89 (-48.94 to 19.35)
24.24 (-10.83 to 63.44)
0.980 (-1.470 to 3.440)
-2.220 (-3.660 to -0.490)
white
yellow
-33.17 (-70.15 to 12.51)
-72.04 (-117.96 to -1.19)
0.0 (-0.05 to 0.04)
-0.380 (-1.130 to 0.350) tooltip
white
grey