Chlorhexidine as a Therapeutic Agent for COVID-19 Infection

Abstract

Y Hanna Huang, Michael K Liu and Jong T Huang

Background: We previously documented that 0.12% chlorhexidine oral rinse and oropharyngeal spray could eliminate oropharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 which might prevent COVID-19 infection and also prevent SARS-CoV-2 spread from a patient to other people. We currently further investigated such application of chlorhexidine might also decrease mortality of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: We reviewed electronic medical records on patients we previously did study for chlorhexidine to eliminate oropharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 and determine whether chlorhexidine treatment influencing the mortality rate. We also repeated the same study in different period of COVID-19 infection to further confirm the efficiency of chlorhexidine in the management of COVID-19 infection. 0.12% of chlorhexidine was given oral rinse plus oropharyngeal spray for the initial 4 days of hospitalization. We also evaluated the possibility of persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in the oropharynx influencing the prognosis of COVID-19 infection.

Findings: The 1^st study period for the year of 2020 through early 2021, 215 patients were enrolled in the study. The 2^nd study was for the period of late 2021 through early 2022, 45 patients entered the study. They were divided into no chlorhexidine treated and chlorhexidine treated group. The study showed chlorhexidine treatment significantly cut the COVID-19 mortality to about half. For the study of SARS-CoV-2 persistence effect on the mortality, we demonstrated that disappearance of SARS-CoV-2 from oropharynx in 4 days after hospitalization significantly cut mortality to 61.9% in the group without chlorhexidine treatment which is statistically significant but only 28.8% in the chlorhexidine treated group which is not statistically significant.

Interpretation: Our previous and current chlorhexidine study provides that 0.12% chlorhexidine oral rinse and oropharyngeal spray may play an important role in preventing the COVID-19 infection and also reduce mortality of COVID-19 infection. The persistence of oropharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 is an ominous sign for the prognosis of COVID-19 infection.