3 ms·

China’s fatality rate is also way down. Partly of course from less stress on the medical system, but they’ve also just learned a lot about how to treat it, par

China’s fatality rate is also way down. Partly of course from less stress on the medical system, but they’ve also just learned a lot about how to treat it, particularly what drugs to use. I believe Chloroquine + Liponavir/Ritanovir + Interferon or Ribavirin is state of the art.

ImprovedSilence 7y ago
I thought that remdesivir was the drug showing the most promise? What happened with that one? And my big questions are how soon can they spool up world supplying levels of batches?
- lbeltrame 7y ago
  It's being tested in a few trials, the earliest one should have data in April, IIRC.
copperx 7y ago
Chloroquine + Liponavir/Ritanovir may cause fatal arrithmias, in the case anyone out there is self medicating. It's one or the other.
- cameldrv 7y ago
  Can you cite a source? Current Chinese treatment guidelines allow it. Also very important to quantify side effect risks, even if it's a rough estimate. For example, if a 70 year old patient has already progressed to dyspena, they might have something like a 20% mortality rate from COVID. Even if there is a side effect profile for the treatment that normally would be considered very dangerous, it may be well worth it to administer it. We see the same thing with chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The side effects are terrible and fairly often fatal, but they are safer than the disease. This is the situation in which we find ourselves.
  - copperx 7y ago
    I can't find the original source, but you can easily verify that both drugs increase the QT/QTC and PR interval, which is a high-risk interaction AFAIK (I'm not a doctor). Some doctors recommend doing an EKG before administering Chloroquine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883944120303907?dgcid=rss_sd_all https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088394412... What you're saying is true, but you're assuming that Chloroquine + Kaletra is better than Chloroquine by itself, and we don't have the data for that yet. Do you have a source for the Chinese recommendations?
    - cameldrv 7y ago
      Thanks for the link. Current Chinese treatment guidelines are: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/coronavirus-treatment-plan-7/ https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/coronavirus-treatment-p... They state: 4. Antiviral therapies: Interferon-alpha (adult: 5 million units or equivalent can be added to 2ml sterile injection water and delivered with a nebulizer twice daily), lopinavir/ritonavir (adult: 200mg/50mg/tablet, 2 tablets twice daily; the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days), ribavirin (recommended in combination with interferon or lopinavir/ritonavir, adult: 500mg twice or three times daily via IV, the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days), chloroquine phosphate (adult 18-65 years old weighing more than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for 7 days; bodyweight less than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for day 1 and 2, 500mg once daily for day 3 through 7); umifenovir (adult: 200mg three times daily; the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days). Pay attention to issues such as adverse drug reactions, contraindications (for example, chloroquine should not be given to patients with heart diseases), and drug interactions. Further evaluate the efficacy of current treatment regimens in clinical applications. Using 3 or more antiviral drugs is not recommended. Corresponding medication should be discontinued should intolerable side effects appear.
  - Cantbekhan 7y ago
    Same for many EU guidelines Source as I posted on other submissions Chloroquine is mostly admitted as a valid treatment now https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22582374 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22582374

ImprovedSilence 7y ago

I thought that remdesivir was the drug showing the most promise? What happened with that one? And my big questions are how soon can they spool up world supplying levels of batches?

lbeltrame 7y ago
It's being tested in a few trials, the earliest one should have data in April, IIRC.

copperx 7y ago

Chloroquine + Liponavir/Ritanovir may cause fatal arrithmias, in the case anyone out there is self medicating. It's one or the other.

cameldrv 7y ago
Can you cite a source? Current Chinese treatment guidelines allow it. Also very important to quantify side effect risks, even if it's a rough estimate. For example, if a 70 year old patient has already progressed to dyspena, they might have something like a 20% mortality rate from COVID. Even if there is a side effect profile for the treatment that normally would be considered very dangerous, it may be well worth it to administer it. We see the same thing with chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The side effects are terrible and fairly often fatal, but they are safer than the disease. This is the situation in which we find ourselves.
- copperx 7y ago
  I can't find the original source, but you can easily verify that both drugs increase the QT/QTC and PR interval, which is a high-risk interaction AFAIK (I'm not a doctor). Some doctors recommend doing an EKG before administering Chloroquine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883944120303907?dgcid=rss_sd_all https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088394412... What you're saying is true, but you're assuming that Chloroquine + Kaletra is better than Chloroquine by itself, and we don't have the data for that yet. Do you have a source for the Chinese recommendations?
  - cameldrv 7y ago
    Thanks for the link. Current Chinese treatment guidelines are: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/coronavirus-treatment-plan-7/ https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/coronavirus-treatment-p... They state: 4. Antiviral therapies: Interferon-alpha (adult: 5 million units or equivalent can be added to 2ml sterile injection water and delivered with a nebulizer twice daily), lopinavir/ritonavir (adult: 200mg/50mg/tablet, 2 tablets twice daily; the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days), ribavirin (recommended in combination with interferon or lopinavir/ritonavir, adult: 500mg twice or three times daily via IV, the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days), chloroquine phosphate (adult 18-65 years old weighing more than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for 7 days; bodyweight less than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for day 1 and 2, 500mg once daily for day 3 through 7); umifenovir (adult: 200mg three times daily; the length of treatment should not exceed 10 days). Pay attention to issues such as adverse drug reactions, contraindications (for example, chloroquine should not be given to patients with heart diseases), and drug interactions. Further evaluate the efficacy of current treatment regimens in clinical applications. Using 3 or more antiviral drugs is not recommended. Corresponding medication should be discontinued should intolerable side effects appear.
- Cantbekhan 7y ago
  Same for many EU guidelines Source as I posted on other submissions Chloroquine is mostly admitted as a valid treatment now https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22582374 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22582374