Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?
Tocilizumab
Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)
Remdesivir
Favipiravir
Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics
Zinc Sulfate
lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b
Vitamin D supplements
Convalescent plasma
Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)
Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
@sh76 saidI think you would have to be pretty irresponsible to give any to your friend without proper sound medical expert advice to do so and for your friend's sake always better to just leave it to the medial professionals. If there is no medic around then you are stuck (in regards to wise medication choice) until if and when there is.
Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
I have heard of some cases of layperson self-medication or layperson medication of their loved ones that resulting in making the illness WORSE and even in some cases resulting in DEATH. This is why we employ experts for such things.
@sh76 saidDexamethasone shouldn't be given prophylactically, as it is an immunosuppressant and seems only to be efficacious in those who are on their last leg in hospital.
Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?
Tocilizumab
Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)
Remdesivir
Favipiravir
Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics
Zinc Sulfate
lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b
Vitamin D supplements
Convalescent plasma
Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)
Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
Heparin would do in my wife, as she is allergic to it. This happened in a hospital a couple decades ago, and the only thing that saved her was a synthetic heparin that had just become available at the time. In short: there are different kinds of heparin, and one kind can be fatal for some.
Low dose aspirin: I take this daily myself, but for other reasons. Nonetheless I'm glad for the (possible) extra defense against clotting. It's possibly the safest thing on your list except for...
Vitamin D: since early April I've gone back to taking a daily multivitamin to help ensure I'm not deficient in vitamin D, seeing as I live in a boreal clime where (as you may recall I said many years ago) a moonsuit is necessary to face the elements during the seemingly endless winters. To get the full benefit of the vitamin D in your body -- to metabolize it -- you need magnesium. The multivitamin also supplies this. So make sure you get your Mg. Nuts like almonds and cashews have a lot, for example. In general just eating a balanced diet is the best defense really.
Remdesivir can have some nasty side effects, but I believe it may be beneficial against Covid-19. Your hypothetical scenario indicates no doctors are about, so would I take it as a treatment, or give it to someone? I'd have to read a lot more about the drug first, and its possible interactions.
Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics: I think not. It has risks, and any benefits seem hard to replicate in studies.
I don't know enough about most of the rest of the things on your list.
@soothfast saidThanks for the tip about magnesium.
Dexamethasone shouldn't be given prophylactically, as it is an immunosuppressant and seems only to be efficacious in those who are on their last leg in hospital.
Heparin would do in my wife, as she is allergic to it. This happened in a hospital a couple decades ago, and the only thing that saved her was a synthetic heparin that had just become available at the time. In ...[text shortened]... d to replicate in studies.
I don't know enough about most of the rest of the things on your list.
I think you're being a touch dramatic about Pennsylvania, though. 😉
Two more quick things:
1. Didn't get a chance to say so in Debates, but I liked your line about herd immunity to panic.
2. Re HCQ, check this out:
https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(20)30534-8/fulltext
03 Jul 20
@medullah removed their quoted postIt's not a 'flu related virus. The PCR method was developed for sickle cell anemia [1]. Mullins made all sorts of bizarre claims and denied HIV caused AIDS. As far as causation is concerned they've been doing these things called Randomized Controlled Trials and demonstrated that dexamethosone reduces mortality by 1/3 in ventilated patients. The trials demonstrate causation.
[1] https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985Sci...230.1350S/abstract
04 Jul 20
@sh76 saidHydrocodone
Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?
Tocilizumab
Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)
Remdesivir
Favipiravir
Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics
Zinc Sulfate
lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b
Vitamin D supplements
Convalescent plasma
Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)
Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
08 Jul 20
@medullah removed their quoted postAre you disputing that the virus SARS-CoV-2 causes novel coronavirus disease? This is what Koch's postulates are for and they are hopelessly outdated. For one thing they can't really cope with asymptomatic cases (violating 3). The modern(ish) approach to medical causation is summarised by the Bradford Hill criteria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Hill_criteria