'Remdesivir helps decrease hospital stay, but has no benefit on mortality': AIIMS Director

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, Remdesivir has emerged as one of the most promising drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. However, it has been found that the anti-viral drug helps in decreasing the duration of COVID-19 patients' stay in the hospital but does not appear to show any benefits when it comes to mortality. According to reports, in addition to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), Remdesivir is also a commonly used drug that is being used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir currently in short supply

According to reports, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria said, "There is no definite anti-viral drug which has been proved as far as COVID-19 is concerned. A lot of research is going on. There are some anti-viral drugs which are being used, one of them is 'Remdesivir' that is being made by a company from the US. Data suggests that it helps to decrease hospital stay but it doesn't show benefit as far as death or mortality benefit is concerned. So we need more data to suggest that these drugs are useful or not."

Dr Guleria added that currently Remdesivir is being used and given to patients in accordance with the prescribed guidelines of emergency use authorisation. There is currently very limited stock of the drug and Dr Guleria hopes to procure more of it in the coming weeks.

Read: Number Of The Coronavirus Cases Tops 3,000 In North Dakota

Read: Tennessee Senate OKs Bill To Limit Coronavirus Liability

Dr Guleria further added, "Repurposed drugs are available in the market and studies, too, have suggested that they may have anti-viral activities and therefore they can be used. The drug which we use commonly for treating coronavirus patients is hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). There are controversies regarding the drug but data suggests that it may be useful especially in the early days."

Read: Researchers Ask If Survivor Plasma Could Prevent Coronavirus

Read: Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Wife Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Dr Guleria also spoke about convalescent plasma therapy wherein infected patients are given plasma containing anti-bodies obtained from people who have recovered from COVID-19, hoping that the anti-bodies will help fight the coronavirus. "These are still evolving treatments and some may be useful and some may not be that useful. But treatment currently remains supportive care oxygenation. As many as 90 to 95 percent of patients with good supportive care oxygenation actually recovery and become alright," he added.

(Input Credit ANI) (Picture credit: AP)