Home Tags Posts tagged with "ivermectin"
Tag:

ivermectin

medicine
Pharma News

US health experts against treating coronavirus with Ivermectin

by Vaishali Sharma
written by Vaishali Sharma

Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19, warning that it can cause harmful side effects and that there’s little evidence it helps.

With a fourth wave of infections, more Americans are turning to ivermectin, a cheap drug used to kill worms and other parasites in humans and animals.

Federal health officials have seen a surge in prescriptions this summer, accompanied by worrying increases in reported overdoses. The drug was even given to inmates at a jail in northwest Arkansas for COVID-19, despite federal warnings against that use. On Wednesday, podcaster Joe Rogan, who has been dismissive of the COVID-19 vaccine, announced he had tested positive for the virus and was taking the medication.

Ivermectin has been promoted by Republican lawmakers, conservative talk show hosts and some doctors, amplified via social media to millions of Americans who remain resistant to getting vaccinated. It has also been widely used in other countries, including India and Brazil.

This week, the top U.S. professional groups for doctors and pharmacists appealed for an “immediate end” to the drug’s use outside of research.

“We are urging physicians, pharmacists, and other prescribers — trusted healthcare professionals in their communities — to warn patients against the use of ivermectin outside of FDA-approved indications and guidance,” said the American Medical Association and two pharmacist groups.

Large studies are now underway in the U.S. and overseas to determine if the drug has any effect on preventing or blunting COVID-19.

The latest plea follows similar warnings from federal and state regulators who are tracking side effects and hospital admissions tied to the drug.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
drug
MOHFW news

DGHS issues revised guidelines for use of Ivermectin, Doxycycline

by Vaishali Sharma
written by Vaishali Sharma

The Union Health Ministry and Family Welfare’s directorate general of health services (DGHS) has issued revised guidelines to stop the use of Ivermectin and Doxycycline in Covid-19 treatment. The new guidelines have dropped all medicines, except antipyretic and antitussive, for asymptomatic and mild cases.However, there seems to be a split in opinion about the new directives as the Indian Council for Medical Research, the country’s leading health agency in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, has not yet approved the revised guidelines.

Meanwhile, about Remdesivir, the DGHS guidelines said, “Remdesivir is a reserved drug approved by DCG (I) under Emergency Use Authorization only based on limited scientific evidence globally. It is to be used only in select moderate/ severe hospitalised Covid-19 patients on supplemental oxygen within 10 days of onset of disease.”

“Physicians are advised to exercise extreme caution in using remdesivir as this is only an experimental drug with potential to harm.”

Meanwhile, about the usage of Tocilizumab, the revised guidelines said, “Tocilizumab is an immunosuppressant drug and it has been approved by DCG (I) for use as an off-label drug only in severe and critically ill patients of Covid-19.”

New guidelines were also laid out for steroids. “Steroids are indicated in only hospitalized moderately severe and critically ill Covid-19 cases. Steroids should be used at the right time, in right dose and for right duration. Self-medication of steroids must be avoided,” the health ministry said.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
drug
Pharma News

Scientists and doctors differ on views on Ivermectin

by Vaishali Sharma
written by Vaishali Sharma

Following Goa government’s prescription of ivermectin to all persons above 18 years of age as a prophylactic treatment of covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) waved out a caution flag against the drug.

“Safety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication. @WHO recommends against the use of ivermectin for #COVID19 except within clinical trials,” Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at WHO tweeted.

Use of Ivermectin, a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases has already fuelled debate over its efficacy in the management of covid-19. Ivermectin is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil-transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies.

The WHO earlier in March had said that the current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat covid-19 patients is inconclusive. Until more data is available, WHO recommended that the drug only be used within clinical trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also recommended it not be used for covid-19.Even as the WHO has been cautioning against the drug, the union health ministry in its revised guidelines on home isolation has recommended Ivermectin in cases of mild or asymptomatic infection, in case of a fever not settling with paracetamol. “Consider Tab Ivermectin (200 mcg/kg once a day, to be taken empty stomach) for 3 to 5 days”, the revised guidelines of the union health ministry state.

Merck, an Ivermectin manufacturer in the US, also in February came out with a statement on the use of drug during the pandemic saying that Company scientists continue to carefully examine the findings of all available and emerging studies of ivermectin for the treatment of covid-19 for evidence of efficacy and safety. “It is important to note that, to-date, our analysis has identified–no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against covid-19 from pre-clinical studies; no meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and; a concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies,” the company said in a statement.

Several public health experts too are against the usage of the drug. “There is apparently no role of Ivermectin in management of covid-19. Both should be removed from all guidelines till robust evidence is generated. Ivermectin maker (Merck) and WHO both have strongly advised against it. It can be individually or universally given for scabies, O. volvulus, strongyloidiasis and filariasis,” said Dr Anoop Misra, chairman, Fortis-C-DOC.

In a stark contrast of the voices against Ivermectin, a latest peer-reviewed research published last week has said that immediate global ivermectin use will end the covid-19 pandemic. Peer reviewed by medical experts that included three U.S. government senior scientists and published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, the research is a comprehensive review of the available data taken from clinical, in vitro, animal, and real-world studies.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
dr dhiren
Covid News and Updates

Question- should we use ivermectin to treat COVID?

by Medically Speaking Team
written by Medically Speaking Team

By Dr Dhiren Gupta

Till now we didn’t had RCT to support or negate .

Look at this double blind RCT PUBLISHED in JAMA “Effect of Ivermectin on Time to Resolution of Symptoms Among Adults With Mild COVID-19”
(JAMA. 2021;325(14):1426-1435. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.3071)

In this randomized clinical trial that included 476 patients, the duration of symptoms was not significantly different for patients who received a 5-day course of ivermectin compared with placebo . median time to resolution of symptoms was 10 vs 12 day.
Conclusion and Relevance – Among adults with mild COVID-19, a 5-day course of ivermectin, compared with placebo, did not significantly improve the time to resolution of symptoms. The findings do not support the use of ivermectin for treatment of mild COVID-19, although larger trials may be needed to understand the effects of ivermectin on other clinically relevant outcomes.

Take home message- this drug is used Rt and left . Physicians using two logic – something has to be given and this is safe drug . Second “look AIIMS protocol also mentioned it “. My point is that while counselling emphasis should be on monitoring, monitoring and monitoring ( of grade of fever ie more than 103 F without medication and 101 plus with antipyretic medication along with drop in oxygenation by 5 percent from base or less than equal to 94 percent) . Drug prescription like ivermectin , doxy , Azee gives them impression that these medication have cured them ( whereas 90 percent of people are going to escape pneumonia by innate immunity). Another problem arises – these so called cured patients by pseudo placebos become super doctors ( like super spreaders )and start prescribing to other contacts . These drugs are available over the counter but what is not available is advice of monitoring and red flag signs. We are harming the society. Wait for another disaster going to happen by change in microbiota due to use of antihelminthic and antibiotics .

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail