Know the medicines that are dropped for the Covid-19 treatment

Thumbnail- Many stages of corona infection
Know which medicines to take

Youtube Title- Know which drugs are removed from the approved COVID treatment list

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The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has recently issued revised COVID-19 treatment guidelines specifying the criteria for the use of certain drugs in treatment. These guidelines drastically cut down on the usage of several antibiotic drugs, steroids, excessive usage of Remdesivir, etc.

As per the DGHS guidelines, no medication is to be given to asymptomatic patients. It removed usage of popular drugs such as Ivermectin, Azithromycin, Doxycycline, Zinc, Favipiravir, and plasma therapy, etc for mild cases and retaining only the usage of antipyretics for fever and antitussive for cold symptoms.

The advisory states that Remdesivir should be provided by the hospitals and should not be procured from open retail markets.

The Government also advised physicians to exercise extreme caution with Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) drug Remdesivir and Off-label drug Tocilizumab.

Remdesivir is to be used only in select moderate/ severe hospitalized Covid – 19 patients on supplemental oxygen as it is a reserve drug approved under Emergency Use Authorization. The guidelines further suggested not to use Remdesivir on mild Covid – 19 patients.

The document notes that steroids are harmful in asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19. Steroids should be taken by only hospitalized moderately severe and critically ill COVID-19 cases. Self-medication of steroids must be avoided.

What asymptomatic patients should do?

For asymptomatic patients, the revised guidelines have said that no medication is required. In the cases of mildly symptomatic patients, self-monitoring for fever, breathlessness, and oxygen saturation (SpO2) have been recommended. For these two categories, the guidelines have also suggested that patients should do a six-minute walk test.

What is a 6-minute walk test?

In the six-minute walk test, patients should walk continuously for six minutes with a pulse oximeter attached to a finger. If oxygen saturation falls below 94 % or if the reading varies by 3 to 5 percentage points, admission to a hospital for observation may be required. The test can be repeated every 6 to 8 hours of monitoring in the home setting. It should not be done by patients older than 70 years, or those with uncontrolled asthma or pregnant patients.

Similarly, for moderate cases, DGHS advises the use of steroids on patients with SpO2 levels falling below 92%.

For severe cases, DGHS has recommended immediate oxygen therapy, intubation, and ventilation, steroid usage, anti-coagulants, immune-modulators, etc.

That’s all in today’s segment …thank you for watching

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