Is the use of ribavirin (or other antiviral drugs) effective in the treatment of patients with SARS?
At present, the most efficacious treatment regimen, if any, is unknown. In several locations, therapy has included antivirals such as oseltamivir or ribavirin. Steroids also have been given orally or intravenously to patients in combination with ribavirin and other antimicrobials. In the absence of controlled clinical trials, however, the efficacy of these regimens remains unknown. Early information from laboratory experiments suggests that ribavirin does not inhibit virus growth or cell-to-cell spread of one isolate of the new coronavirus that was tested. Additional laboratory testing of ribavirin and other antiviral drugs is being done to see if an effective treatment can be found.
