Coronavirus Treatment with Anticoagulants Can Improve Patient Survival

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Treatment with anticoagulants can improve the survival time of critically ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus, according to a new observational study by experts at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The research shows that drugs of this type can work as a treatment for the disease, rather than as prevention.

The researchers noted that patients treated with anticoagulants showed significant improvement in their conditions.

“Research shows that oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous anticoagulants have played a major role in treating patients with Covid-19 and can prevent fatal events associated with coronavirus, such as heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolism,” explained one of the authors of the study, Valentin Guster. “The use of the drugs should be considered when patients reach emergency rooms and test positive for the virus in order to improve results. However, each case must be individually assessed,” he said.

The study was conducted with 2,773 patients hospitalized for coronavirus. Of these, 28 percent (786) were treated with full doses of anticoagulants, a higher dose than is generally administered in cases of blood clots. It was then observed that the use of drugs improved the survival rates of patients in and out of the ICU.

Among those who did not survive, patients taking the drug died after an average of 21 days in the hospital, while those who did not take the drug died within 14 days. The effect of anticoagulants was most observed in patients using ventilators and 62.7 percent of intubated patients who were not given the drug died, compared to 29.1 percent of those who were given the drug.

“We are hopeful that this research can be confirmed in future investigations,” said hospital president David Reich.

As the study does not provide conclusive results, further research on the subject is still required before new treatments for Covid-19 can be found. Currently, there are more than 100 vaccine projects and about 200 drugs in the testing phase to treat patients infected by the novel coronavirus.

In Brazil, tests with the drugs have already been conducted at the Sírio Libanês Hospital. In some cases, an improvement has been observed.

Due to the absence of clinical evidence and World Health Organization recommendations on effective treatments and prevention methods, quarantine is still the only solution recommended by specialists to minimize the number of cases of Covid-19 infection in Brazil and worldwide.

Source: Exame