Interferon‐α‐2b aerosol inhalation is associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease‐2019

Aims Type 1 interferon (IFN) is used to treat patients with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) but robust supporting evidence is lacking. We investigated the association between IFN‐α‐2b and the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID‐19. Methods A total of 1401 patients were enrolled, with 852 (60.8%) patients receiving 5 000 000 U of IFN‐α‐2b via aerosol inhalation twice daily. The primary outcome was a composite measure consisting of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death. A subgroup analysis was performed to investigate the impact of the IFN‐α‐2b initiation schedule on symptom onset. Results The risk probability for crude endpoints was lower in the IFN‐α‐2b group (3.8%) than in the non‐IFN‐α‐2b group (9.3%, P