'Insufficient data to recommend widespread Ivermectin use in Covid-19 patients'

There isnt enough data to back the widespread use of Ivermectin in Covid19 patients and it can be recommended only in some mild to moderate cases experts say as three states go ahead with plans to distribute the antiparasitic drug as a preventive despite WHO warning against such measuresThe oral drug used to treat a number of neglected tropical diseases should be used for Covid19 patients only in the absence of better treatment options several scientists and doctors cautionedKarnataka Uttarakhand and Goa announced this week that they would distribute it as a preventive against Covid19The World Health Organization and others have warned against such measuresAlso Read WHO warns against use of ivermectin to treat Covid19ldquoSafety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication WHO recommends against the use of ivermectin for COVID19 except within clinical trialsrdquo WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a tweet on TuesdayldquoThe effectiveness of Ivermectin is being investigated in a number of clinical trials across the world due to its potential antiinflammatory properties and invitro performed in a petridish or testtube activity against Covid19 virusrdquo said Monica Gulati senior dean Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences Lovely Professional University LPU PunjabldquoHowever till date due to the paucity of large clinical trials the data available is not sufficient enough to recommend the use of Ivermectin for the treatment of Covid19 emphatically at this point of time she addedWelldesigned and large clinical trials she stressed are needed to provide evidencebased recommendations on the issueRachit Srivastava consultant general medicine at Apollo TeleHealth in Hyderabad said ldquoIt is a drug for treating worm infections and may be recommended in only some cases in the current scenario but not allrdquoldquoFor stating it to be an absolute drug of choice we need more trials In the current pandemic the pros are much more than cons in selecting Ivermectin for patients with mild to moderate diseases with symptoms using it to prevent progression and making a better prognosisrdquo she saidIn the absence of other effective medicines there could possibly be some benefits from IvermectinldquoJust to give the benefit of doubt to the treating abilities of Ivermectin we should continue the use of the drug for mild to moderate casesrdquo added SrivastavaHe agreed that the USFDA strongly opposes the use of IvermectinldquoTo summarise we have to keep using it unless and until we get an absolute treatment for Covid19 or we have surplus amount of Remdesivir to cover all our patientsrdquo he addedArup Kumar Banerjee from Siliguris North Bengal Medical College and Hospital agreed that the disease severity in many cases appears to be less with IvermectinldquoSince we have not seen major side effects till now and also because there is no specific treatment available for Covid19 Ivermectin is usedrdquo Banerjee told PTIAs Indian scientists weigh the pros and cons their international counterparts at agencies like the WHO European Medical Agency EMA and USFDA have raised red flagsMerck the German manufacturer of the drug has also said available data does not support using the drug as a treatment for Covid19According to Gurpreet Sandhu president of the Council for Healthcare amp Pharma in Delhi contrary to what WHO says Ivermectin is still listed as an option for possible treatment for mild to moderate COVID19 patientsldquoRecommended by WHO only for clinical trials the widespread use of this drug is raising alarm Many public health experts too are against the usage of the drug and demand removal of this drug from the Covid19 protocol list until some substantial research is releasedrdquo he saidldquoSupporting international warnings we too disagree with the widespread use of Ivermectin unless monitored closelyrdquo Sandhu addedThough the pandemic has forced doctors to adopt the unconventional route of treatment taking an unapproved or undertrial drug can be very dangerous he warnedSandhu said there are side effects associated with the drug as listed by the USFDA ldquoIf it is not taken under proper medical supervision the side effects may include nausea sudden drop in blood pressure skin rash vomiting diarrhoea stomach pain facial or limb swelling neurologic adverse events and liver injuryrdquo he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever