BENGALURU: A new study claims strong evidence that preventive blood-thinning drugs may reduce the risk of death in Covid-19 patients. About 14 per cent of patients who were given anticoagulants within 24 hours of hospital admission died from Covid-19 compared with 19 per cent of those who didn’t receive it – a relative risk reduction – the study finds.
According to the study, published on Friday in the British Medical Journal, the findings on blood thinners are based on data from more than 4,000 patients, mostly men, from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Experts in Karnataka said that a combination of three medicines worked as magic on the patients here, one of them being heparin, a blood-thinner.
“Much before the ICMR guidelines, Karnataka had already started the use of two important drugs, and later we added heparin,” said Dr C N Manjunath, Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. He said that it was known that any person with Covid-19 would come with infection and inflammation. While the doctors treated infection by giving Remdesivir, inflammation was reduced by giving steroids.
Experts have looked for existing, low-cost medications to help severely ill Covid-19 patients as more elaborate treatments disappoint. One of the biggest successes so far has been dexamethasone, a steroid that has been shown to reduce the risk of death by one-third for patients on ventilators, and Remdesivir.
“Remdesivir is an excellent medicine if given to the right patient at the right time. Steroids were also given to patients,” he added.
Interestingly, a study published in Italy last year after conducting post mortem on a Covid patient, showed that there were a lot of blood clots in the anterior lungs. Based on this study, Karnataka added the use of anticoagulation drugs in the treatment protocol. Karnataka doctors who treated Covid-19 patients said that the three magic drugs combination made a big impact on recovery -- not only reduced ICU stay but also prevented deaths.
“Even now only after a patient’s condition is analysed that the combination of these three drugs is administered as per the treatment protocol. It is clinically proven that blood thinner medicine heparin does indeed reduce mortality risks,” said a senior doctor from Victoria Hospital.