An older drug that shows efficacy against COVID 19

[Lazarus]

I am sure I posted a similar article showing the efficacy of a long established drug that helps with COVID. The drug’s name began with the letter b...this is a different drug but the point is the same...

“
Colchicine for Early COVID-19? Trial May Support Oral Therapy at Home
— But some find science-by-press-release troubling

by Crystal Phend, Senior Editor, MedPage Colchicine tablets

Anti-inflammatory oral drug colchicine improved COVID-19 outcomes for patients with relatively mild cases, according to certain topline results from the COLCORONA trial announced in a brief press release.

Overall, the drug used for gout and rheumatic diseases reduced risk of death or hospitalizations by 21% versus placebo, which "approached statistical significance."

However, there was a significant effect among the 4,159 of 4,488 patients who had their diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed by a positive PCR test:

25% fewer hospitalizations
50% less need for mechanical ventilation
44% fewer deaths

If full data confirm the topline claims -- the press release offered no other details, and did not mention plans for publication or conference presentation -- colchicine would become the first oral drug proven to benefit non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

"Our research shows the efficacy of colchicine treatment in preventing the 'cytokine storm' phenomenon and reducing the complications associated with COVID-19," principal investigator Jean-Claude Tardif, MD, of the Montreal Heart Institute, said in the press release. He predicted its use "could have a significant impact on public health and potentially prevent COVID-19 complications for millions of patients."

Currently, the "tiny list of outpatient therapies that work" for COVID-19 includes convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies, which "are logistically challenging (require infusions, must be started very early after symptom onset)," tweeted Ilan Schwartz, MD, PhD, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

The COLCORONA findings were "very encouraging," tweeted Martin Landray, MB ChB, PhD, of the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford in England. His group's RECOVERY trial has already randomized more than 6,500 hospitalized patients to colchicine versus usual care as one of the arms of the platform trial, though he did not offer any findings from that study.


**********((((((********

[stillstANNding]

Just a caution about colchicine: it has a very narrow therapeutic range. Patients must be monitored for colchicine toxicity.

https://calpoison.org/news/diagnosis...cine-poisoning

ANN

[agate]

Colchicine seems to be commonly prescribed for gout but the woman in ANN's article was taking only a really small dose of it, and yet she died.

But apparently there's so little available for treating COVID-19 successfully that colchicine is looking good.