[ad_1]
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A new and rare investigational drug has been administered to seven patients in UCHealth hospitals who have COVID-19.
UCHealth has received 650 doses of Bamlanivimab, a potential treatment option for COVID-19. The drug is still in clinical trials and aims to prevent the virus from getting worse in patients. It also aims to prevent people from being admitted to hospitals.
KRDO spoke with Carrie Beckman, an experimental pharmacist at UCHealth Memorial Central, about the drug.
Chase Golightly: What is Bamlanivimab supposed to do to someone who has COVID-19 and is administering it?
Carrie Beckman: “The purpose of this drug is to hopefully avoid hospitalizations. So we want these patients with these high-risk illnesses to be able to get severe COVID-19, hopefully if they did get it it would reduce the number of them who would have to go to the hospital. We know our hospitals are very full right now, we want to do everything we can to prevent patients from being admitted.
“It kind of neutralizes the virus and hopefully it can get rid of it.”
Even though it is still in clinical trials, how successful has Bamlanivimab been in helping patients with COVID-19?
“The evidence shows that it may be effective.”
“The evidence that was submitted to the FDA by the company, they looked at a few things … the study looked at hospitalization rates and they found that the patients who were given this drug, Bamlanivimab, were less admitted to the hospital and when they looked at patients who had these high-risk conditions, there was an even greater difference between placebo and this drug in the number of patients admitted. “
“I don’t mean to say that it’s a wonder drug and that it works perfectly, but I think whatever we can do to keep people out of the hospital is worth it.
How is it administered to patients and how long does the treatment last?
“This drug is administered intravenously. It is given as a 60 minute infusion and observation is required thereafter for an additional 60 minutes depending on everything you need to do before and after, we estimate it will take around three hours. to receive this treatment. “
What are the side effects of this medicine?
“This drug is quite well tolerated. The side effects are nausea, diarrhea, dizziness. There is a small chance, like any monoclonal antibody, when you receive this infused medicine that you might have a reaction and we have medicine on hand in our infusion clinic to treat these kinds of reactions, but there is no had no common when patients got the date that has been submitted so far. “
Who can receive this treatment?
“It is not for hospitalized patients. This medicine is for patients who are not hospitalized and have mild to moderate symptoms. They must test positive and obtain this medicine within ten days of onset of their symptoms. “
“It’s for patients who are at high risk of getting severe COVID-19, so it’s for patients 65 years and older, for patients who have diabetes or other medical conditions that cause them to be considered to be amino acids. “
For people who fall into this category, can they go to a UCHealth hospital in Colorado Springs and receive it immediately?
“To get this drug, if you’re interested, you would want to work with your primary care provider. It’s not something you want to call the hospital to get it, you have to have a prescription from your doctor or provider before we can get this medicine.
“Because of this limited supply, UCHealth and many other health systems are working with the state to ensure this is distributed and distributed fairly. The state has a website that your supplier should go to to enter your information, make sure you are qualified, and at this point it would be randomized to see if you have been selected to receive part of the offer that we have. “
For people who qualify to receive the drug and are hesitant because it is experimental, what would you tell them?
“I think it’s really important for any patient who is interested or worried about this to have a very clear discussion with their caregiver, doctor and find out what would be the benefits for them and what are the risks to them. This is something you really want to discuss and make sure you have all the information before you make a decision. “
What is the difference between Remdesivir, the drug President Donald Trump received during his hospitalization for COVID-19, and Bamlanivimab?
“Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is currently used in hospital patients, so patients who already have severe COVID-19 and who are in hospital. [Bamlanivimab] is another type of medicine which is a monoclonal antibody and it is used at this stage for mild to moderate patients who are not in hospital.
[ad_2]
Source link