Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : July 13, 2021 7:14 PM IST
Remdesivir And HCQ Do Not Help In Recovery Of Hospitalised Covid-19 Patients
Remdesivir is an experimental medication developed in cooperation with the US Centers for Disease Control and the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases by biotech business Gilead Sciences. It's one of several medication candidates developed in response to the threat of new illnesses produced by RNA viruses germs like the one responsible for the 2002 SARS outbreak that have the potential to create worldwide pandemics. While some studies suggest that Remdesivir helps block coronavirus, a new clinical trial has shown that it is not so effective in treating Covid-19.
Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, popular malaria and autoimmune disease therapy, has been investigated as a COVID-19 preventive treatment. According to the findings of this research, hydroxychloroquine has little to no effect on sickness, hospitalisation, or mortality.
According to a new study conducted by the World Health Organisation, neither Remdesivir nor hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) helps in the recovery of hospitalized Covid-19 patients. The study, headed by experts from Oslo University Hospital in Norway, discovered that the absence of antiviral efficacy with Remdesivir and HCQ was constant regardless of patient age, symptom duration, viral load, or the existence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers randomly assigned 181 hospitalised patients in 23 Norwegian hospitals to receive Remdesivir, HCQ, or standard of care to assess the effects of Remdesivir and HCQ on all-cause, in-hospital mortality, the degree of respiratory failure and inflammation, and viral clearance in the oropharynx.
The researchers discovered no statistically significant differences in mortality during hospitalisation between treatment groups. The use of Remdesivir and HCQ had no effect on the severity of respiratory failure or inflammation. The findings have been published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Based on these findings, the researchers call Remdesivir and HCQ's antiviral potential into doubt.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised Remdesivir for treatment in severe instances of Covid in May of last year. Later, the government expanded the clearance to adults and children over the age of 12 in order to reduce hospitalisation. In November, however, a WHO guideline committee recommended against using Remdesivir in Covid patients since it had "no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and other patient-important outcomes".
(with inputs from IANS)
