Combined Application of Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Ethanol Nasal Spray during COVID-19 Pandemic May Protect Healthcare Workers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Coronavirus pandemic has affected a large population worldwide. Currently, the standard care for individuals who are exposed is supportive care, symptomatic management, and isolation.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the combined use of ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a nasal spray in preventing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This randomized controlled trial was conducted on volunteer healthcare workers of medical centers who were at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 in Shahroud, Iran.In total, 232 participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups to receive DMSO/ethanol or routine care, respectively. The subjects were followed for four weeks to determine the incidence of COVID-19 infection in each group based on the RT-PCR test. Finally, absolute risk difference and relative risk were calculated to evaluate the effect of DMSO on COVID-19 prevention.

The results showed that the incidence rates of COVID-19 were 0.07 and 0.008 in the control and intervention groups, respectively. The relative risk was obtained at 0.12 (0.02-0.97) according to the incidence rate in the two groups.

Combined administration of DMSO and ethanol by healthcare providers can considerably prevent COVID-19.