This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal).
The article has been retracted at the request of the Founding Editor, Prof. Lawrence H. Lash, on the basis that there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable: https://publicationethics.org/files/retraction-guidelines-cope.pdf.
Additional external review of this published paper raised several concerns. While a properly conducted clinical trial is certainly welcome, the experimental design of this study lacks sufficient details for some of the methods and approaches, uses inappropriate or inadequate statistical analysis, and presents unclear data interpretation.
The conclusions and statements of the authors cannot be readily supported by the information presented in the paper.
Additionally, no reference is made to the well-known controversies that surrounded the recommended use of ivermectin to treat infections with COVID-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01695-w; https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/surgisphere-sows-confusion-about-another-unproven-covid19-drug-67635 The omission of any discussion of these controversies in the present paper makes the paper misleading and unacceptable.