Researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center and Hospital(USA) said that treatment with blood-thinning drugs - anticoagulants (inhibit the activity of the blood coagulation system) - may increase the chances of survival of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. This was reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The authors studied the medical history of 2773 patients with confirmed coronavirus infection in the period from March 14 to April 11, 2020. An analysis of these medical cases showed that those who received blood-thinning drugs significantly improved their health both in the intensive care unit and outside it.
Anticoagulant therapy has had a particularly effective effect on severe patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (mechanical ventilation). When treatment with blood-thinning drugs was not carried out, 62.7% of the total number of patients on mechanical ventilation died. However, with the use of such drugs, mortality in this group of patients decreased to 29.1%.
“The study shows that oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous administration of anticoagulants can play an important role in treating patients with COVID-19, as well as preventing possible coronavirus-related deaths, including from a heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism,” says one authors of the work, Director of the Institute of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Hospital, Valentin Faster.
At the same time, according to Dr. Faster, the possibility of using anticoagulants should be considered individually, since such drugs can cause complications in the form of bleeding.
“We hope that conclusions about the association of anticoagulant therapy with a higher survival rate will be confirmed in future studies. We will continue to analyze data on patients with coronavirus to contribute to worldwide efforts to find effective treatments, ”said David Reich, President and Director of Mount Sinai Hospital.
Russian doctors also consider the use of blood-thinning drugs as an extremely effective treatment for patients with COVID-19. This was reported in an interview with RT by the director of the Medical Research and Education Center of Moscow State University, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Armais Kamalov.
“Too many patients with coronavirus infection require blood thinning therapy. Anticoagulant therapy is needed for those who are hospitalized, it is aimed at preventing the formation of blood clots. Our data indicate that it is important to prescribe this therapy in a timely manner so that, for example, thrombosis of small arteries does not occur. Blood-thinning drugs improve microcirculation, lead to the most rapid stabilization of the patient's condition, and prevent dangerous changes in the lung tissue, ”explained Academician Kamalov.