Sustained intake of HCQ by using PPE helped prevent HCV in Covid-19: ICMR study | India News

New Delhi: Continuous intake of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) With proper use of Personal protective equipment (PPEA study shows that health care workers have significantly reduced the chance of getting a coronavirus infection.
According to the findings of a case control study published online at ICMRIn Sunday’s Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), four or more maintenance dose intakes were associated with a significantly reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among study participants.
“Biologically, it seems that HCQ prophylaxis may prevent the virus from solidifying the scaffold before the onset of infection,” the researchers said in a study.
It also states that the benefits of using PPE are independently demonstrated by multivariate models.
Health care workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of getting Covid-19. Severe occupational exposures associated with aerosol generation procedures underscore the need for personal use of PPE, but high transmission efficiency of the causative agent. [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)] The study could also lead to infections beyond those circumstances, the study said.
The diverted antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been empirically recommended as a prophylaxis by the National Covid-19 Task Force of India to cover such additional risks.
Against this background, the current study was conducted to identify factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among domestic healthcare workers, the researchers said.
The study found that HCWs undergoing endotracheal intubation were more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2.
“It was confirmed that simply starting HCQ prevention does not reduce the probability of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs. However, ingesting 4 or more maintenance doses of HCQ has a protective effect. In an emerging and adjusted multivariate model, a significant reduction (> 80%) in the probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers was observed with HCQ prophylaxis at ≥6 doses.
“This dose-response relationship added to the results of the study,” the study said.
It is worth mentioning in this context that the national task force of Covid-19 in India maintained the HCW load (400 mg bd) followed by weekly maintenance for 7 weeks (400 mg once a week). The amount is recommended.
According to the researchers, adherence to this recommended regimen is underscored by the results of the study.
“But HCQ prophylaxis should be done in parallel with the use of PPE, as shown by the multivariate model,” they said.
The study states that a recent registry-based analysis emphasized that HCQ does not provide therapeutic benefit in severe Covid-19 cases and was associated with increased mortality.
It states that this apparent difference from the results of current research may be explained by two different application contexts.
“While observational studies, including registry analysis, focused on the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients, our focus was on the prevention of infections among healthcare workers. -19 patients have a very high viral load, Cytokine Levels that may not be improved by HCQ therapy, “the study said.
Registry-based analysis also recorded a higher frequency of ventricular arrhythmias in patients undergoing HCQ. As observed in our study participants, HCQ toxicity may be rare in healthy groups receiving prophylactic treatment.
“Biologically, it seems likely that HCQ prophylaxis may prevent the virus from solidifying the scaffold before the onset of infection,” the study said.
The three most common HCQ side effects reported by cases and controls were nausea (8%), headache (5%), and diarrhea (4%). None of the HCQ controls complained of palpitations, but only one reported the same.
Gastrointestinal symptoms such as acidity and vomiting after intake of HCQ ranged from 0.6% in cases to about 2% in controls. Very few cases (0.6%) and controls (1.4%) had a skin rash after consuming the drug.
During the first week of April 2020 and the end of the first week of May 2020, health care workers tested formed a sample pool from which cases and controls were drawn.
A case was defined as symptomatic HCW with a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test. Controls were symptomatic HCWs that tested negative for RT-PCR for infections with similar considerations.
The Case Group and Control Group can reach as many as 624 and 549 individuals, respectively. 60.58% (378/624) of cases and 67.94% (373/549) of controls completed interview schedules were available for analysis
Cases were slightly older (34.7 vs. 33.5 years) and more men (58 vs. 50%) compared to controls.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily stopped testing a drug as a potential treatment for Covid-19 in infected patients in a global clinical trial based on safety concerns.
On Tuesday, DG ICMR’s Dr. Balram Bhargava said no major side effects of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were found in an Indian study, and its use prevented Covid-19 under strict medical supervision. He said that it can be continued as a medicine.