Scientists in Britain have started a clinical trial of a cheap, commonly used drug — aspirin — to see whether the anti-inflammatory agent can improve the care of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 by reducing the formation of life-threatening blood clots.
The study of aspirin is part of the same large trial that in June discovered the life-saving benefits of the steroid dexamethasone, another inexpensive and widely available drug that was found to significantly reduce deaths in severely ill Covid patients who were on ventilators or supplemental oxygen.
Patients with Covid are at risk of developing blood clots that can block blood flow to organs and cause heart attacks, strokes and other complications. Over the course of the pandemic, doctors have learned to closely monitor hospitalized patients for signs of the clots, often putting them on blood thinners early on to reduce the risks.
The new study in Britain is part of the Randomized Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy or Recovery trial, the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for hospitalized Covid patients.
Researchers will randomly assign some 2,000 patients or more in 176 hospital sites to receive 150 milligrams of aspirin a day along with standard treatment, comparing them with a similar number of patients who receive standard care treatment and no aspirin. The study will look at length of hospital stay, the need for mechanical ventilation and deaths after 28 days.
A recent University of Maryland study of hospitalized Covid patients found that those who were given aspirin had a significantly lower risk of developing Covid complications than those who were not on aspirin. The observational study, published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia, looked at the outcomes of 412 patients from four hospitals and found they were less likely to need intensive care or mechanical ventilation, and were more likely to survive.
Dr. Martin Landray, who is a co-leader of the Recovery trial, said such studies must be tested in a randomized clinical trial. Preliminary results might be available as soon as January.
“We are not telling people to try it at home,” Dr. Landray said, noting that taking aspirin can cause excessive bleeding. “We’re saying there’s good science to believe clots are a problem in Covid, and there’s good science to believe that aspirin’s effect on platelets — the sticky bits of blood — can improve that.”
— Roni Caryn Rabin The New York Times
Me: Use and try salt, idiots!!