Blood-thinning drugs reduced the risk of death from COVID-19 in a new study, pointing to another promising tool as doctors scour their medicine cabinets for treatments to slow the pandemic.
About 14% of patients who received anticoagulants within 24 hours of hospitalization died of the coronavirus, compared with 19% of those who didn’t, according to a study published Friday in the British Medical Journal. The patients were treated with heparin, an injected blood thinner sold by generic drug manufacturers, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Scientists have looked for existing, inexpensive drugs to help critically ill COVID-19 patients as more comprehensive treatments disappoint. One of the biggest successes to date has been dexamethasone, a steroid that has been shown to reduce the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilation equipment.
The findings on blood thinners are based on data from more than 4,000 patients, mostly men, from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They were hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and July 31. The patients who received anticoagulants did not have an increased risk of bleeding, according to the study.
The study is based on observation, meaning the results need to be confirmed by clinical trials and some are underway, the scientists said. The drugs may yield a result because blood clots that develop in large veins and arteries could be the cause of COVID-19 deaths, the study said.
© Copyright 2021 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.