Background: Tecovirimat (TCV, TPOXX®) is an orthopox-specific antiviral drug indicated for the treatment of smallpox. There is also a mechanistic basis for its use in mpox infection. However, its approval was based on animal studies, and its efficacy and side-effect profile in human patients with disease is unknown.
Methods: During the 2022 international mpox epidemic, clinicians in Canada accessed TCV from the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Emergency Strategic Stockpile for severe cases of mpox disease. We describe the use of TCV in nine adults with severe mpox virus infection in Montréal, Canada.
Results: Five patients were treated for severe and potentially life-threatening head and neck symptoms, while four were treated for genitourinary or anorectal disease. Two-thirds of patients were also treated for suspected bacterial superinfection. All patients recovered (median time to resolution of severe symptoms: nine days) without relapse or hospital readmission. No patients reported adverse events attributable to TCV and no patients stopped their treatment early.
Conclusion: Our experience suggests that TCV is well tolerated and may accelerate recovery in severe cases. These preliminary, observational data may also be explained by concomitant treatment for superinfection and are limited by the absence of a control group. Controlled, clinical trials should be conducted to clarify the attributable benefit of TCV in severe mpox infection.
Keywords: Montréal; mpox; orthopoxvirus; tecovirimat.