Outcomes
SECONDARY
We used the seven-category ordinal scale that has been used in different COVID-19 therapeutic trials (All the patients provided written or electronic informed consent before randomization. The secondary outcome set included the following: scores on the COVID Outcomes Scale on day 7, follow-up for clinical status and all-cause mortality on the 28th-day post-randomization, duration of days at the hospital, 5th-day changes post-randomization for viral load expressed as cyclic threshold (Ct), and inflammatory markers and perceived stress scores on day 14. Other auxiliary markers were HbA1c, blood hemogram, and kidney function markers. All protocol amendments were authorized and approved by the institutional review board or independent ethics committee.