NEWS

New infusions offer promise of reducing hospital COVID patients

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 12/17/20

By JOHN HOWELL Doctors have new medications to help those with COVID-19 from developing a life threatening case of the disease although neither is its application a simple procedure nor is there, at this time, sufficient quantities of the drugs for its

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NEWS

New infusions offer promise of reducing hospital COVID patients

Posted

Doctors have new medications to help those with COVID-19 from developing a life threatening case of the disease although neither is its application a simple procedure nor is there, at this time, sufficient quantities of the drugs for its widespread use.

State Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott disclosed at the governor’s COVID press conference Thursday that bamlanivimab, produced by Eli Lilly Co. and casirivimab/imdevimab, produced by Regeneron, two monoclonal antibody infusions are now being used in the outpatient setting. The FDA recently granted emergency use authorizations [EUA] of the infusions that have shown to reduce the severity of COVID-19.

Dr. Scott emphasized this is not a vaccine and the infusions are not used to prevent the virus infection. Dr. Chet Cunha, Medical Director, Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, said Tuesday the first patient received the Eli Lilly infusion on Nov. 23 and that as of Tuesday about 40 patients had been treated. The infusions were conducted at out patient clinics on the campuses of the Rhode Island and Miriam Hospitals.

So far, he said, none of those patients receiving the treatment have been admitted to the hospital and he is hopeful its continued use will keep people out of the hospital.

“This is exciting for us,” Cunha said, “it is the first EUA for outpatients.” He said that in trials the treatment was shown to reduce the number of high-risk COVID-19 patients that ended up being admitted to a hospital from 10 to 3 percent.

Dr. Philip Chan, infectious disease specialist and DOH medical director, described the administration of infusions as taking an hour. The infusion is administered through a needle in the arm while the patient is lying down. In laymen’s terms he described the medications as laboratory produced proteins with COVID virus antibodies that boost the body’s natural immune system.

He called them “custom made” antibodies that are only effective in targeting COVID-19 and would not prove effective in fighting other infections.

He said the infusions are in the early stages of development and that production is limited. He said the federal government determines the quantities of doses allocated to states. At this time the number of doses available to Rhode Island he put in the “hundreds.”

Cunha said Lifespan has 450 doses available. Doses are also being available to Care New England.

Also, the DOH has issued guidelines for patients considered eligible for the treatment. Those requirements include that the patient have COVID; that hospital admission is not anticipated; that the patient is not requiring supplemental oxygen due to COVID-19 and that the patient is at risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and hospitalization.

Further, to be eligible, patients must be 65 years old or older unless they have one of the following conditions: BMI (body mass index) is = 35; they have chronic kidney disease; diabetes or immunosuppressive disease or receiving immunosuppressive therapies.

In its directive to physicians, the DOH writes, “Due to the extremely limited number of doses received, the infusion will be offered to highest risk patients, and then by lottery for remaining available appointments.”

Richard Salit, spokesperson for Lifespan, emphasized that the treatment is only administered on the basis of a physician’s request. By the same token, he said, people with COVID-19 should be aware of it and inquire of their physician whether they are eligible for the treatment.

infusions, COVID-29

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