| Popis: |
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus, has destabilized society all around the world and is predicted to take a long time to be overcome. The worldwide efforts that healthcare professionals are making is well known, and the high risk of illness and death that front-line staff experience on a daily basis is a reality as well. Despite well-defined protocols for the use of personal protective equipment, many nurses and doctors are still getting sick and dying. It is well known that vaccination is still faraway to be achieved worldwide and that new variants are emerging, so additional protective measures must be explored. This study investigated the effectivity of a neutral electrolyzed water (SES) to reduce the risk of COVID-19 disease in front-line medical staff, when it was used for nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal rinses (prophylactic protocol).Methods: A prospective open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial was performed in front-line medical staff from the general hospital Enrique Cabrera in México City. One hundred and seventy volunteers were enrolled and equally divided in control group and SES group. All members of the trial wore the adequate personal protection equipment at all times while performing their duties, as required by standard COVID-19 safety protocols. Additionally, the SES group participants followed a prophylactic protocol with SES (oral and nasal rinses, three times a day for 4 weeks). All participants were monitored for COVID-19 symptoms and disease in a time-frame of 4 weeks and the incidence of illness per group was registered. The relative risk of disease, associated with each treatment was calculated. Results: The presence of COVID-19 positive cases, in the group that received the nasal and oral rinses with SES was 1.2%, while in the group that did not do the SES rinses (control group), it was 12.7% (p= 0.0039 and RR= 0.09405; 95%, CI of 0.01231-0.7183). The prophylactic protocol was demonstrated as a protective factor for developing the disease. Conclusions: Nasal and oral rinses with SES may be an efficient alternative to reinforce the protective measures against COVID-19 disease and should be further investigated. Trial registration: RPCEC00000357. Retrospectively registered, March, 16, 2021. https://rpcec.sld.cu/en/trials/RPCEC00000357-En/revisions/5137/view |
