Early intervention with tecovirimat may stop an mpox infection from advancing to the stages of severe disease in people living with HIV (PWH), new research suggests.
Investigators followed a sample of PWH who received care for mpox at four Atlanta hospitals between June and October 2022. Two propensity-matched cohorts were formed: one including 56 patients who received tecovirimat therapy within 7 days of mpox symptom onset, and the other consisting of 56 patients who did not receive tecovirimat for at least 7 days after symptom onset or never received it at all.
Mpox disease progression was observed in 5.4% of patients in the early-treatment group compared with 26.8% in the late- or no-treatment group.
Although more research is needed to validate the findings, the study results support initiation of tecovirimat therapy in all PWH at the first signs of an mpox infection.