Home-use Photobiomodulation Device Treatment Outcomes for COVID-19

BACKGROUNDThere is need for non-pharmaceutical treatments for COVID-19. A home-use photobiomodulation (PBM) device was tested as Treatment in a randomized clinical trial. METHODS294 patients were randomized with equal allocation to Treatment or Standard of Care (Control). 199 qualified for efficacy analyses. The Treatment group self-treated for 20 minutes twice daily, for the first 5 days, and subsequently once daily for 30 days. A validated respiratory questionnaire was used, and patients were monitored remotely. The primary endpoint was the time-to-recovery (3 consecutive days of no sickness) for general sickness. The Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox Proportional Hazards model were primary methods of analyses. RESULTSTreatment patients with collective 0-12 days of symptoms, at moderate-to-severe level on Day 1 of Treatment, did not recover significantly faster than Control. However, for patients with 0-7 days of symptoms there was a significant mean difference of 3 days: Treatment, 18 days (95% CI, 13-20) vs. Control, 21 days (95% CI, 15-28), P=0.050. The Treatment:Control hazard ratio at 1.495 (95% CI, 0.996-2.243), P=0.054 exceeded the pre-trial target of 1.44. Treated patients exceeding 7 days symptoms duration were more tired and had lower energy. None of the patients in the Treatment group suffered death or hospitalization while the Control group had 1 death and 3 severe adverse events requiring hospitalization. CONCLUSIONSPatients with up to 7 days of symptoms at moderate-to-severe levels on first day of Treatment can expect faster recovery for general sickness and several respiratory symptoms. (Funded by Vielight Inc.; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04418505.)