More lifesaving Covid-19 treatments

[IT Minion]

Clinical trial results show the drugs reduce risk of death by 24% for critically ill patients and time spent in intensive care by up to 10 days.

<snip>

Supplies of tocilizumab are already available in hospitals across the UK and clinicians will be able to treat all those admitted to intensive care units, potentially saving hundreds of lives. The department is working closely with Roche, who manufacture tocilizumab, to ensure treatments continue to be available to UK patients.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...ments-that-could-cut-hospital-time-by-10-days

Another example of our world leading research infrastructure at work and saving lives. This improvement is on top of the previous improvement given by steroids.

In short, some off the shelf anti-inflammatory drugs help stop the massive immune overreaction in seriously ill patients. They're not as cheap as steroids but they are easily worth the expense and there's enough around to be used.

 

[Dangee]

I’ve got it at home.
Gout pills!!

 

[Bodd]

I’ve got it at home.
Gout pills!!

I've been told I've got Gout.... not felt it yet...

 

[IT Minion]

In less good news, convalescent plasma doesn't seem to be useful. The idea was that using someone who's recovered blood plasma might help fight off the disease, but it seem to make no difference.

https://www.recoverytrial.net/news/...patients-hospitalised-with-covid-19?ref=image

 

[ajohn]

The plasma trials are still on going.

This particular one was noticed by China and others
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(20)30173-9/fulltext

 

[IT Minion]

The plasma trials are still on going.

This particular one was noticed by China and others
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(20)30173-9/fulltext

That one is a second tier study, retroactive non randomised observational. That's not to say it's not useful, but it isn't as good as REMAP-CAP or recovery.

Of the treatments used they included the following, as well as Tocilizumab.

hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, antiretrovirals, and low molecular weight heparin

All of which were shown to be non-helpful, and in one case activity dangerous . I didn't spot plasma as one of the treatments.

That one might have been one of the early studies that lead Recovery and REMAP-CAP to include Tocilizumab for full testing.

 

[ajohn]

Different countries are inclined to do their own trials but results are usually shared. Mrs EU has stated that the 2 other vaccines ok for use in the UK will receive EU approval shortly.

You seem to have missed this
73 (20%) patients in the standard care group died, compared with 13 (7%; p<0·0001) patients treated with tocilizumab (six [7%] treated intravenously and seven [8%] treated subcutaneously).

Suggesting it could be administered either way. and effective.

They are still collecting plasma from donors. One of them achieved the highest volume from a single person very recently. Something is extracted and some things put back. I didn't catch those details.

This might interest some. Traditional medicine included. Pass on that. It a complete unknown but it's not unusual for medicines to be derived from or found in plants.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40495-020-00218-5

 

[IT Minion]

They are still collecting plasma from donors. One of them achieved the highest volume from a single person very recently. Something is extracted and some things put back. I didn't catch those details.

There are still people being treated with it to complete the Recovery study, and presumably there are other trials that might use it, so harvesting is still ongoing. But at this point it is very unlikely to be useful for very sick patients.

 

[ajohn]

https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/covid-19-research/research-and-trials/plasma-trials/

 

[IT Minion]

https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/covid-19-research/research-and-trials/plasma-trials/

Thanks, a good summary, as it says both trials (recovery and REMAP-CAP) are winding up convalescent plasma.