Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34548368›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Efficacy of clarithromycin in patients with mild COVID-19 pneumonia not receiving oxygen administration: protocol for an exploratory, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial (CAME COVID-19 study).

Kazuko Yamamoto, Naoki Hosogaya, Noriho Sakamoto, Haruo Yoshida, Hiroshi Ishii, Kazuhiro Yatera, Koichi Izumikawa, Katsunori Yanagihara, Hiroshi Mukae

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Implications of empirical testing and treatment for atypical bacteria in patients hospitalized with COVID, influenza, or RSV: a retrospective observational cohort study.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
    Observational
  2. Review
  3. Frontiers in chemistry · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Kazuko YamamotoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan kazukomd@nagasaki-u.ac.jp.ORCID 0000-0002-1357-1676
Naoki HosogayaClinical Research Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
Noriho SakamotoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-7577-476X
Haruo YoshidaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Hiroshi IshiiDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Fukuoka University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
Kazuhiro YateraDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-2955-4432
Koichi IzumikawaInfection Control and Education Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
Katsunori YanagiharaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
Hiroshi MukaeDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
Nagasaki University Hospital · JPFukuoka University Hospital · JPNagasaki Medical Center · JPNagasaki University · JPUniversity of Occupational and Environmental Health Japan · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has emerged worldwide. Although several medications have been approved for treating moderate-to-severe COVID-19, very few treatment strategy has been established for patients with mild COVID-19 who do not require oxygen administration. Clarithromycin is a macrolide antimicrobial agent that has been widely used for bacterial respiratory infectious diseases. Clarithromycin also acts an immunomodulating drug and suppresses cytokine storms in viral respiratory diseases, including influenza. In this study, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of clarithromycin in patients with mild COVID-19. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is an exploratory, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. This study was initiated in May 2021 and will end in July 2022. Patients with mild COVID-19 pneumonia who do not require oxygen administration will be enrolled and randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to group A (administration of clarithromycin 800 mg/day), group B (administration of clarithromycin 400 mg/day) or group C (standard treatment without clarithromycin). The planned number of enrolled patients is 60 (20 patients × three groups). The primary endpoint is the number of days required to improve the clinical symptoms as measured by the severity score. Secondary endpoints include days for recovery of the body temperature, proportion of patients with oxygen administration, inflammatory cytokines, viral load, serum immunoglobulins, peripheral blood lymphocytes, blood biomarkers and pneumonia infiltrations. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the Clinical Research Review Board of Nagasaki University in accordance with the Clinical Trials Act in Japan. The study will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, the Clinical Trials Act and other current legal regulations in Japan. Written informed consent will be obtained from all the participants. The results of this study will be reported as journal publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: jRCTs071210011.

Indexed as

ClarithromycinCOVID-19HumansMulticenter Studies as TopicOxygenPandemicsPorphyrinsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSARS-CoV-2Treatment Outcomechlorin e6 triacetoxymethyl esterClarithromycinOxygenPorphyrinsCOVID-19respiratory infectionsrespiratory medicine (see thoracic medicine)

Identifiers

PMID34548368
PMCPMC8458001
OpenAlexW3199982272

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.