According to the latest survey on antiviral drugs, using Remdesivir is likely to show clinical improvement in Covid affected patients on low flow oxygen. Similar results were seen when patients were not on oxygen support. As part of the study, the hospitalization data of more than 40000 patients were analyzed.
Remdesivir Beneficial For Covid-19 Patients On Low Flow Oxygen
It was found that 74% of patients who received remdesivir showed some improvement within 28 days as against 68% of patients who did not receive such treatment. More improvement was seen among the group that was not on oxygen support or low flow oxygen support.
The mortality rate was significantly lower in patients who received remdesivir treatment during Covid infection. The study supports the use of remdesivir in covid affected patients staying at hospitals.
The researchers also say that this treatment works best when used in the early stages. In this way, the patient will not go into a situation where oxygen support is needed. Apart from that, it also reduces the chances of serious outcomes in many cases.
It is generally observed that when the patient has reached a critical level of surviving on oxygen support, antiviral therapies do not offer much help. For this reason, these treatment options should be considered as early as possible after the infection, and this can go a long way in reducing the need for critical care in the future.
The researchers strongly believe that this is the most comprehensive study done on the effect of remdesivir on covid patients to date. Earlier research done on this subject did not offer concrete evidence about the effectiveness of remdesivir. Due to this reason, this therapy is not widely used across the country.
However, the researchers of this study believe that their findings are based on extensive research comprising a wide range of patients from different social and economic backgrounds.
Health experts say that antiviral therapies should be used for high-risk patients in the initial stages of infection so that hospitalization can be avoided to a large extent. In this way, the rapid surge of new variants can be mitigated within a short duration of time. Using such antiviral therapies also lessens the burden on the health system as fewer patients will need oxygen support during the pandemic.
Using remdesivir can lessen the number of days spent at the hospital for most patients. When antiviral therapy is started as soon as the infection is confirmed, it can even avoid hospitalization in many cases. This was evident in the available data from authorized sources that showed reduced hospital admissions among outpatients who used remdesivir during covid infection.
Apart from helping the covid patients during the pandemic, using antiviral therapies has many other advantages as it can lessen the load on critical care units. This is a huge advantage for the health system during a pandemic situation.
The hospitalization rate stands at an all-time high in the US due to the rapid surge of Omicron in the last few weeks. As experts feel that that situation is likely to worsen in the upcoming weeks, the hospital load is likely to increase further. This has led to a situation where hospital beds are not available for non-covid patients in many cases.
All these things can be avoided to a large extent by using antiviral therapies like remdesivir in the early stages of infection. In this way, the patient has more chances of recovering at home without getting admitted to the hospital. Even when the patient is admitted to the hospital, the need for critical care is reduced by using remdesivir in the early stages of infection.
