LONDON, July 31: International experts are making a weak recommendation for the use of remdesivir in patients with severe Covid-19, though strongly support the continued enrolment of patients into ongoing clinical trials of this drug.
According to the study, published in the journal The BMJ, the antiviral medication remdesivir has received worldwide attention as a potentially effective treatment for severe covid-19 and is already being used in clinical practice.
The current recommendation is based on a new evidence review comparing the effects of several drug treatments for Covid-19 up to 20 July 2020.
It shows that remdesivir may be effective in reducing recovery time in patients with severe covid-19, although the certainty of the evidence is low.
But remdesivir probably has no important effect on the need for mechanical ventilation and may have little or no effect on length of hospital stay.
"The effectiveness of most interventions is uncertain because most of the randomised controlled trials so far have been small and have important study limitations," the study authors wrote. � IANS
