Local Thermotherapy to Prevent Progression in Patients With Mild-to-moderate COVID-19: A Randomized, Open-label Trial

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the use of local thermotherapy as a treatment to help control mild-to-moderate COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This virus is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus responsible for a global pandemic with varying fatality rates. Raising the temperature on affected areas may inhibit viral replication by producing small interfering RNAs that block viral transcription. Thermotherapy has been previously used to target RNA viruses, cancer cells, and parasitic infections, which supports its potential use against COVID-19 to reduce viral load and aid the immune response. The study compares two groups: one receiving usual hospital care plus an electric heat pad applied to the chest for 90 minutes twice daily over 5 days, and the other receiving usual hospital care alone. The heat pad raises the skin temperature to 40-42 0C, a range expected to facilitate virus elimination without causing discomfort. The electric cushion is a commercially available device widely used for muscle pain and arthritis treatment. Participants will undergo evaluations over 28 days to monitor disease progression and other health outcomes such as mortality, time to severe or critical COVID-19, hospitalization duration, oxygen requirement, and adverse events. Clinical status will be assessed using scales like the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS-2), and safety and tolerance of the thermotherapy will be tracked. The trial is randomized and open-label, with follow-up visits occurring at multiple time points during and after the treatment period.

Local Thermotherapy for Patients With Mild-to-moderate COVID-19