Study on the clinical efficacy and safety of baloxavir marboxil tablets in the treatment of influenza A

Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the influenza virus (1). It has the characteristics of high incidence, rapid spread, a wide susceptible population and seasonality (2). Seasonal influenza epidemics can include 3–5 million severe cases worldwide each year, including 290,000–650,000 influenza-related respiratory disease-related deaths (3). If timely and effective treatment is not provided, serious complications can arise and threaten the safety of patients (4).

Anti-influenza virus treatment is an important means to control the virus. Oseltamivir is the most commonly used anti-influenza A virus drug at present. However, in 2017, the World Health Organization updated its “Standard List of Essential Drugs” to indicate that oseltamivir had not achieved its expected clinical efficacy when it was first added to the list in 2009. Therefore, it was moved from being a core drug to being an auxiliary drug, indicating that its use was limited to critically ill hospitalized patients with a confirmed or suspected influenza virus infection (5, 6). Baloxavir marboxil tablets (trade name Xofluza) are the world’s first FDA-approved RNA polymerase inhibitors for the treatment of simple acute influenza patients aged 12 years and older for no more than 48 h (7, 8). Compared with neuraminidase inhibitors, baloxavir has the advantages of fewer does, faster antiviral efficacy and fewer adverse reactions and can quickly relieve the dyspnea of adult patients with influenza A (9, 10). Studies have shown that baloxavir is equally effective for oseltamivir-resistant strains and avian influenza virus strains and can be used as an alternative therapy for oseltamivir resistance (11). However, for children under 12 years old, older people above the age of 65 years and patients with severe underlying diseases, its safety and effectiveness must be further confirmed by more clinical studies (12). In this study, we compared baloxavir with oseltamivir for treating patients with influenza A who were aged between 14 and 85 years old.