March 15, 2022
Treating high-risk patients who have a mild to moderate COVID-19 infection with ivermectin during the early stages of illness does not prevent the progression to severe disease, according to new data.
While vaccines and other forms of medical intervention have been highly effective at preventing and treating COVID-19, there still exists a global need for more therapeutics. Due to ivermectin's wide availability, researchers from several hospitals in Malaysia conducted the study to determine its efficacy in treating severe disease.
Ivermectin is an inexpensive antiparasitic that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human use to treat infections caused by parasitic worms. It is also used as a topical to treat head lice and certain skin conditions like rosacea – which causes visible blood vessels in the face and small, pus-filled bumps.
However, ivermectin has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19. The agency says that the data available does not show the drug to be effective, and that taking it could be dangerous. Large doses could lead to an overdose and cause allergic reactions, diarrhea, vomiting and seizures.
Over the course of the pandemic, ivermectin gained popularity due to some social media personalities, doctors and organizations promoting the drug as a way to treat COVID-19.
These claims led many to seek out the drug, and prescriptions surged 25 times over in August, from 3,600 per week to over 88,000. Leading experts in the medical field came out to condemn those spreading misinformation about ivermectin and urged people not to take it.
Ivermectin is also commonly prescribed by veterinarians, but the version given to animals is highly concentrated and can be toxic for humans. Amid the surge in demand for the drug during last summer, there was an uptick in cases of people using the animal version.
Calls to poison control centers for ivermectin poisoning rose and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least two adults needed to be hospitalized.
The study included 490 participants from 20 hospitals and a quarantine center in Malaysia. Patients were all age 50 or older, had a laboratory confirmed case of mild to moderate COVID-19 and had at least one comorbidity, like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Of the participants, 241 were given ivermectin for five days plus the standard of care and 249 only received the standard of care. Infections were deemed severe if the patient needed to be put on a ventilator or moved to an intensive care unit.
Of the 241 patients given the drug, 52 ended up progressing to serious illness, compared to 43 of the 249 patients in the control group. The study also found that only four patients in the ivermectin group needed a ventilator versus 10 in the control group and that six patients in the ivermectin group needed intensive care in comparison with eight in the control group.
Three patients in the ivermectin group and 10 in the control group died.
The researchers said a 50% reduction in the number of patients who became seriously ill, or a 9% difference in outcomes between the two groups, would have been required to prove ivermectin's efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19.
Matibabu ya wagonjwa wa hatari ya juu ambao wana maambukizi ya COVID-19 ya upole hadi wastani na ivermectin wakati wa hatua za mapema za ugonjwa haizuii maendeleo ya ugonjwa mbaya, kulingana na data mpya. Ingawa chanjo na aina nyingine za uingiliaji wa matibabu zimekuwa na ufanisi mkubwa katika kuzuia na kutibu COVID-19, bado kuna haja ya kimataifa ya matibabu zaidi. Kwa sababu ya upatikanaji mkubwa wa ivermectin, watafiti kutoka hospitali kadhaa nchini Malaysia walifanya utafiti ili kuamua ufanisi wake katika kutibu ugonjwa mbaya. Ivermectin ni dawa ya antiparasitic ambayo imeidhinishwa na Idara ya Chakula na Dawa ya Marekani kwa matumizi ya binadamu kutibu maambukizo yanayosababishwa na minyoo ya vimelea. Pia hutumiwa kama topical kutibu vipepeo wa kichwa na hali fulani za ngozi kama rosacea <unk> ambayo husababisha mishipa ya damu inayoonekana usoni na bumps ndogo, zilizojaa pus. Ivermectin haijaidhinishwa na Idara ya Chakula na Dawa ya Marekani kuzuia au kutibu COVID-19. Shirika hilo linasema kwamba data zinazopatikana hazionyeshi dawa hiyo kuwa yenye ufanisi, na kwamba kuitumia inaweza kuwa hatari. Kiasi kikubwa cha dawa hiyo kinaweza kusababisha kupita kiasi na kusababisha mzio, kuhara, kutapika, na mshtuko wa akili. Ivermectin imekuwa maarufu sana katika mitandao ya kijamii na kwa sababu ya watu mashuhuri, madaktari na mashirika ya kutangaza dawa hiyo kama njia ya kutibu COVID-19. "Hata hivyo, ""maagizo ya dawa ya kulevya yaliongezeka mara 25 katika mwezi Agosti, kutoka 3,600 kwa wiki hadi zaidi ya 88,000.""" Wataalamu wa afya wa Marekani wamewashutumu wale wanaosambaza habari za uwongo kuhusu ivermectin na kuwaomba watu wasiitumie. Ivermectin pia hutolewa kwa kawaida na madaktari wa mifugo, lakini toleo linalopewa wanyama lina kiasi kikubwa sana na linaweza kuwa na sumu kwa wanadamu. Wakati wa kuongezeka kwa mahitaji ya dawa hiyo, idadi ya watu wanaotumia dawa hiyo ya wanyama imeongezeka. Kwa mfano, kituo cha kudhibiti sumu cha Ivermectin, ambacho ni kituo cha kudhibiti na kuzuia magonjwa, kilisema kuwa watu wazima wawili walihitaji kulazwa hospitalini. Utafiti huo ulihusisha washiriki 490 kutoka hospitali 20 na kituo cha karantini nchini Malaysia. Wagonjwa wote walikuwa na umri wa miaka 50 au zaidi, walikuwa na kesi ya maabara iliyothibitishwa ya COVID-19 ya upole hadi wastani na walikuwa na angalau ugonjwa mmoja wa pamoja, kama shinikizo la damu au kisukari. Katika washiriki hao, 241 walipewa ivermectin kwa siku tano pamoja na kiwango cha utunzaji na 249 walipata tu kiwango cha utunzaji. Maambukizo yalionwa kuwa mabaya ikiwa mgonjwa alihitaji kuwekwa kwenye kifaa cha kupumua au kuhamishwa kwenye kitengo cha utunzaji wa dharura. Kati ya wagonjwa 241 waliopewa dawa hiyo, 52 waliendelea kuwa na ugonjwa mbaya, ikilinganishwa na 43 kati ya wagonjwa 249 katika kikundi cha kudhibiti. Utafiti huo pia uligundua kuwa wagonjwa wanne tu katika kikundi cha ivermectin walihitaji kifaa cha kupumua dhidi ya 10 katika kikundi cha kudhibiti na wagonjwa sita katika kikundi cha ivermectin walihitaji huduma ya kina ikilinganishwa na nane katika kikundi cha kudhibiti. Wagonjwa watatu katika kundi la ivermectin na kumi katika kundi la kudhibiti walikufa. Utafiti huo ulionyesha kuwa kupungua kwa asilimia 50 kwa idadi ya wagonjwa waliopata ugonjwa mbaya, au tofauti ya asilimia 9 katika matokeo kati ya vikundi hivyo viwili, ingekuwa muhimu kuthibitisha ufanisi wa ivermectin kama matibabu ya COVID-19.