Vanesa Lopez
01/10/2021 7:00
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 01/10/2021 7:00 AM
The therapeutic use of
ivermectin
is increasingly widespread.
This week,
Missions
approved it in its protocols for patients with coronavirus.
In Salta, Corrientes and Tucumán they officially adopted it.
While other provinces are also using it, especially among doctors.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug widely used in human and veterinary medicine.
Its application as a treatment against the coronavirus is controversial.
And
it is not
yet
approved
by the National Administration of Food, Drugs and Medical Technology (ANMAT).
In
Misiones
, through a resolution, the Ministry of Public Health authorized the use in patients with Covid-19.
The Government said that the drug will be applied by protocol and that other provinces are already doing it because there is evidence that it accelerates the recovery process of those infected, despite the fact that it is considered an alternative therapy.
In principle, the drug will be supplied to
inmates in public hospitals
in Misiones.
The protocol released by the Ministry details that patients will receive a dose of 0.6 mg per kilo and per day, over five days.
Misiones has been carrying out preventive therapy with ivermectin in health personnel for several months, both in hospitals and in sanatoriums, but the results are unknown.
After the announcement, some pharmacies and veterinarians in Posadas
ran out of stock
of the product, according to what was published in local media.
Although they clarify that it is sold only by prescription.
Gustavo Valdéz (Left), governor of Corrientes, during the announcement of the study that investigated the efficacy of ivermectin.
Photo Twitter.
In
Corrientes
, spokesmen for the Public Health Ministry said that it was used preventively and also in infected people, but a few months later
the supply was discontinued due
to the lack of evidence of its effectiveness.
"There are some studies that indicate that there is an improvement in 30% of the patients treated, but there is no evidence that it serves to prevent contagion," said an official from the Corrientes ministry.
"
The use was very informal
and was done with the informed consent of the patient," added the source.
Regarding
Tucumán
, the Minister of Health, Rossana Chahla, told
Clarín
that there are "totally" good expectations regarding the use of ivermectin.
"We are convinced that
the viral load decreases
and that it has done very good to the population we have given it," he says.
They began using it in October, within so-called “off label” studies in which a drug that is authorized for something else is used for one purpose.
They began to give it within a protocol, in volunteers.
There are several protocols that follow.
One is prophylaxis, that is, prevention, for health personnel, where they were given a dose of 12 mg.
per week.
Another was for Covid positive patients: they were given a 24mg dose.
if it was mild, 36 mg.
if it was moderate or 48 mg.
if it was serious.
“We knew what
harm he was not going to do
.
But if it did good, it was good, "says Chahla, who adds that they are currently analyzing the results.
In
Salta
, the Minister of Health, Juan José Esteban, confirmed in dialogue with Salta / 12 that the health personnel of the Hospital El Milagro are using the drug and also, "by preventive resolution", in older adults and people with underlying diseases. or causes of comorbidity.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug widely used in human and veterinary medicine.
AFP photo.
Also at the Arturo Oñativia Hospital, the possibility of accessing an ivermectin and carrageenan treatment (nasal drops) was made available to the workers, as
a preventive method of contagion
, reported its manager, Marcelo Nallar.
The list of provinces continues.
“Last week I started taking it and I consulted and spoke with a doctor who is positive for Covid who takes it in
Corrientes
, where it is being used, but it is also used in
Jujuy
,
San Luis
,
Córdoba
,
Santa Fe
.
Several provinces are using it, especially doctors, Lucrecia Becerra, a specialist in transfusion medicine and occupational medicine, told TiempoSur.
While Alejandro Krolewiecki, Conicet researcher at the Institute for Tropical Diseases Research of the National University of Salta (IIET, UNSa) and who is heading one of the clinical trials, told
Clarín
that it is being administered in
Misiones
,
Corrientes
,
Salta
, and
Jujuy
.
“We know they are implementing it.
Unfortunately, not everyone uses the drug in the same way,
"he says.
That is, they differ in the dose and duration of the treatments.
“There are different studies that use different doses.
This is where there is
still a bit of clarity
, to think together, and try to figure out what is the safest and most efficient use of the drug, "adds Krolewiecki.
His group completed a clinical trial in 45 patients in September.
They were able to verify that the drug administered to people in the early stages of the disease could
decrease the amount of virus
in respiratory secretions.
The results were presented to the ANMAT.
"There is, as far as I know, a formal indication from the ANMAT or the Ministry of Health that patients with Covid be treated with this drug", Krolewiecki assumes, although he considers that "this is something very dynamic."
From that result, they moved on to the next phase: a larger study, of
about 800 participants
.
It is already approved and they plan to incorporate the first patients next week.
It will be carried out in centers in Spain, with the participation of Argentine centers in the design.
Ernesto Azarkevich, Misiones correspondent, collaborated.
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