Suloexide in the Treatment of Early Stages of COVID-19
Suloexide in the Treatment of Early Stages of COVID-19
Problem:

 The COVID- 19 pandemic has not only affected our healthcare system, but the impact on the
 worldwide financial systems and our "normal" way of life is still to be determined.

 Although the percentage of patients infected with COVID-19 that need hospital care is low,
 Its high rate of contagiousness makes the total number of patients in need of hospital care
 cripple any healthcare system, limiting the space available for other patients in need of
 critical care, who cannot be admitted or even prefer not to attend the hospital in fear of
 infection.

 Early investigations report an Increase risk of thromboembolic complications, and a systemic
 inflammatory response not clearly understood. There is a possible vascular endothelial
 dysfunction due to chronic comorbidities (Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney
 disease, lung disease) as a risk factor for a more severe presentation.

 Justification:

 Sulodexide is a two-compound drug, each of them with different endothelial action that can be
 beneficial in COVID-19 patients.

 Glycosaminoglycans: Can help restore venous and arterial endothelial glycocalyx which can
 downregulate or limit the response to inflammatory molecules, by maintaining the integrity
 lost in certain chronic diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes).

 Heparin compound: It has an antithrombotic effect that could help reduce the incidence of
 thromboembolic complications, and also add to the anti-inflammatory response due to it
 anti-thrombin action (similar or a bit less to that of low molecular weight heparin) with
 less risk of major bleeding.

 It's a medication that can be used orally with minimal adverse effects and is less expensive
 than low molecular weight heparin.

 Hypothesis:

 We hypothesize that sulodexide instituted early in populations at significant risk and
 symptomatic patients affected with COVID-19 (shortness of breath, fever, weakness, diarrhoea)
 and risk factors of diabetes, hypertension, COPD, atherosclerosis, chronic kidney disease,
 will provide improvement in endothelial integrity, decrease inflammatory responses, and
 improved clinical outcomes with decreased hospital admission, decrease VTE and arterial
 complications, morbidity, and mortality.

 Objective:

 To use sulodexide in patients that have early onset of COVID-19 symptoms to mitigate the
 progression of the disease process that can allow them to recover at home, and limit the need
 of hospital care and a more severe clinical manifestation
Objective:

 To use sulodexide in patients that have early onset of COVID-19 symptoms to mitigate the
 progression of the disease process that can allow them to recover at home, and limit the need
 for hospital care and the more severe manifestation which includes fulminant respiratory
 failure, acute kidney injury, cardiomyopathy, and thrombosis.

 Target study population:

 COVID-19 positives in the early but symptomatic stages of the disease (fever, cough,
 shortness of breath, malaise, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, anosmia). High risk of developing
 a severe presentation of the disease (due to chronic comorbidities).

 Research methodology Prospectively, information collection will be carried out in COVID-19
 patients, who are in early stages of the disease, defined as a beginning of symptoms of 3
 days or less, who attend the CLINEDEM medical unit, located in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora,
 Mexico, in the period from June 15, 2020, to 30 August 2020. Demographic and clinical data
 will be collected digitally and physically and kept in the clinical record individually the
 researcher.

 This is a clinical, prospective, one-centre, randomized, controlled study. The collaboration
 of the participants in the protocol will be a minimum of 3 weeks. Selection Period: the time
 during which candidates will be reviewed, selected, and randomized. Contact will be made with
 primary health services, both government and private, for a prompt reference of suspected
 cases, contact with family members of known COVID-19 patients to seek evaluation if
 developing symptoms, and social media recruitment. Candidates will be evaluated for inclusion
 criteria by the researcher (or the assigned person), explain the protocol, confirm the
 availability and/or willingness to participate, the signature of informed consent will be
 obtained for follow-up and laboratory sampling, from then on patients will be considered
 inscribed in the clinical trial. The physician (or assigned person) will collect general
 demographic information, relevant medical history, measurement of patient weight and height
 for body mass index (BMI) calculation, send to a clinical laboratory that will perform
 baseline examination blood samples, and COVID-19 testing.

 2 groups will be formed: Group A: COVID-19 positive patients with early-stage symptoms who
 will receive placebo doses of sulodexide. Group B: COVID-19 positive patients with
 early-stage symptoms receiving doses of sulodexide.

 Treatment period: time from when patients initiate the oral dose of sulodexide. Patients in
 groups A and B will receive the recommended initial stage treatment protocol which consists
 of rest, measures of home isolation, and use of acetaminophen in case of pain or fever. if
 the participant is indicated another medicine by their treating physician, it will be
 recorded in their file, but will not be an elimination criterion.

 Group A: will be granted supply for 7 days of placebo medicine in the same packaging and
 appearance as the original sulodexide. A first follow-up appointment will be scheduled, which
 will be made according to the participant's preference, either virtually (phone, cell phone,
 videoconference) or physically with a visit to the patient's home by the researcher or a
 study collaborator, which will be repeated every 7 days for 21 days, questions will be asked
 about the general health condition and will report adverse symptoms related to drug intake.
 During this period, extra visits will be made at the request of the patient or consideration
 of the investigator. At each visit, symptomatic progression will be asses. At the end of the
 21 days, a control blood sample will be carried out including dimer-D and C-reactive protein
 and the study variables will be analyzed.

 In case of need for hospital care, the authorization will be requested from the physician is
 charged to obtain daily information about the general evolution during the stay, without
 interfering with the specific treatment protocol. This information will be collected and
 emptied into a database electronically and physically. Despite being part of the initial
 informed consent, follow-up authorization will be confirmed during a hospital stay, which can
 be denied at any time by the patient or family member, in case the participant is not in a
 position to make decisions. The use of a placebo will be ruled out at that time. Group B: the
 same protocol as group A + Sulodexide dose of 500 LRU will be added every 12hrs (two
 capsules).

 Measures to prevent or minimize bias: Control group will be receiving a placebo.
 Randomization will be performed according to the Castor EDU computing program. Only the
 research leader will be known as randomization allocation.

 Premature interruption of the study: The study may be suspended prematurely if significant
 safety problems are detected, if new scientific knowledge arises, or if other conditions
 arise that place subjects at undue risk if they continue in the study. The sponsor or the
 Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Independent Ethics Committee (IEC) or the competent
 authorities may terminate the study before its scheduled time.

 Drug compliance The dates of the first and last intake, as well as any interruption of
 treatment, if any, will be recorded in the participant's file. The number of tablets
 dispensed and the number of tablets returned by the participant must be counted by the
 researcher or a designated person on his/her team and registered. If the participant does not
 bring back their medication box, the number of tablets taken and the number of days in which
 the means have been applied will be estimated by the investigator interrogating the
 participant. If the information is available on an upcoming visit, the data should be
 corrected. Compliance will be evaluated weekly for the duration of your participation.
 Compliance shall be calculated based on the relationship between the number of tablets taken
 and the theoretical number of tablets required by the number of treatment days. If compliance
 is not satisfactory during the study (e.g. less than 80% or more than 120%), the participant
 should be questioned to identify the reason for the study.

 Universe With a population in the area of San Luis Rio Colorado and its surroundings
 approximately 1,000,000. 60% in the age range between 20 and 70 years and 55% female sex.

 There is difficulty in defining the current number of positive cases given the presence of
 asymptomatic carriers of the disease, as well as a lack of openness for diagnostic tests in
 the health sector, limiting an adequate sample calculation required for the study.

 A COVID-19 patient has an 80% probability of developing a self-limited presentation that will
 not warrant hospital care, but in the presence of comorbidities, the risk can increase. This
 trial is focused on high-risk patients that can develop the need for hospital care given by
 the calculator risk assessment software, increasing the risk of hospital care in our
 population to 30-50%. In the severe presentation, the risk of mechanical ventilation can be
 20% and a 6.7% mortality rate, however, these data can be modified according to different
 countries and by the presence of risk factors given by chronic commodities.

 In Mexico, as of June 07, 2020, the national mortality rate is reported at 11.8% and in the
 state of Sonora of 9.7%. In the town of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, of the cases confirmed
 37.7% has required hospital management.

 Sample size:

 The sample size was determined using G*Power 3.1.9.2 program by taking an error type I with a
 value of 5% (alpha-0.05), a type II error of 20% (beta-0.20) giving a 95% confidence value
 and a statistical power of 80%. Obtaining a No. 102 participants per group to which 10% was
 added for possible patient loss/abandonment by defining a total sample of 112 patients per
 study group.

 Statistical analysis The data will be emptied into Excel sheets (Office 360, Microsoft) and
 transferred to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 (IBM) operating
 program for statistical analysis.

 The study looks for a superior effect in group B (sulodexide) compared to group A (control),
 a significant level will be set to 5% (p < 0.05) with a 95% confidence interval.

 Descriptive variables will be presented as mean, standard deviation (SD), minimum, maximum
 for continuous data, and a number of cases and percentages for categorical data. The student
 t-test and chi-square will be used to compare the differences between the two groups
 accordingly.

 Variable Classification Dependents: the need for hospital care, days needed supplemental
 oxygen, need for hemodialysis, need for mechanical ventilation, mortality, presence of major
 bleeding, presence of thromboembolic complications, Serum levels of D- dimer, serum levels of
 C-reactive protein, serum levels of creatinine.

 Independent: Use of sulodexide General precautions of sulodexide: If anticoagulants are used
 simultaneously, the doses of the anticoagulants should be readjusted.

 Restrictions on use during pregnancy and lactation: Although fetal toxicity studies did not
 show embryo or fetal-toxic effects, use during pregnancy or lactation is not recommended.

 Secondary and adverse reactions: Epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and skin rash have rarely
 been reported. Local manifestations have occasionally been reported at the site of redness
 injection or small bruising. In control group research, the frequency of side effects is
 similar to placebo.

 Adverse Events:

 All adverse events and other situations relevant to the safety of participants should be
 followed and documented completely and accurately to ensure that the sponsor has the
 information necessary to continuously assess the benefit-risk balance of the Clinical Trial.
 An adverse event is defined as any unfavourable medical occurrence in a subject participating
 in a clinical study, whether or not there is a causal relationship with the medicinal product
 understudy, and/or experimental procedures, which occur or are detected from the date on
 which the participant signs the consent form, regardless of the study period (e.g. the
 selection period, they also refer).

 Therefore, an adverse event may be:

 -  Any unwanted signs, including an abnormal finding of an additional examination
 (laboratory tests, x-rays, ECG, etc.) that is considered clinically relevant by the
 researcher

 -  Any symptoms or illnesses not related to the underlying disease.

 Ethical and Regulatory Aspects

 Helsinki Declaration from the World Medical Association: The Global Medical Association has
 promulgated the Helsinki Declaration as a proposal for ethical principles for medical
 research in humans, including research of identifiable human material and information.

 According to ethical principles for medical research in human beings, the physician has to
 protect life, health, dignity, integrity, the right to self-determination, privacy and
 confidentiality of information; Following this principle, the confidentiality of the
 information will be maintained the participating patients, only medical and administrative
 personnel related to the protocol will have access to the clinical record where the patient's
 name and information are located. For third parties who require access to the data, mainly
 for the final statistical analysis or collaboration of some information regarding the study,
 this will be sent, subject to authorization by the principal investigator, but under special
 coding that replaces the name of the participant and not including personal-work information
 not related to the study.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  3 days or less with clinical COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, sour throat, headache,
 body ache, anosmia, diarrhoea, vomiting).

 -  sign inform consent.

 -  >50% risk developing a severe clinical presentation of COVID-19 according to risk
 calculator

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  COVID-19 negative test

 -  known pregnancy

 -  chronic use of steroid medication

 -  deep vein thrombosis in the last 6 months

 -  extended anticoagulation in the last 3 months.

 -  known allergy to sulodexide.

 -  severe symptoms that warrant hospital care at initial screening