Azithromycin, also known as Zithromax, belongs to the class of medicines known as antibacterials orantibiotics. These medicines kill bacteria (small organisms that can cause infection in humans) or stopbacteria from growing. Patients with weakened immune systems, includingpeople with HIV, tend to have more frequent andmore serious bacterial infections. Azithromycinwas approved by the FDA on June 14, 1996, formany uses, including the prevention and treatmentof Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) inpersons with advanced HIV infection. It is alsobeing investigated to see how well it works inpreventing other kinds of bacterial infections inpeople with HIV.
Oxford University and the COVID Symptom Study app are joining forces to widen access to two clinical trials of potential treatments for COVID-19.
According to new research, the use of hydroxychloroquine among outpatients in clinical trials, without high-risk factors for cardiac arrhythmia, is safe.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the lives of several hundred thousand people across the world. In Spain, a intense outbreak took a toll of over 28,000 lives.
More than 3 million people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 130,000 have died. More people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. than in any other country, but few studies offer national data on the factors that may contribute to outcomes for critically ill patients.
Now, a recent trial published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 reports that a majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a high titer of neutralizing antibodies, at the time of admission, within 10 days of symptomatic disease.
A new study from Belgian researchers shows that antiviral drug Favipiravir could have a weak effect against the dreaded novel coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as seen in hamster models. However, the study also finds there is no efficacy of the much-touted drug Hydroxychloroquine.
Now a new study by an Italian team of researchers published in June 2020 on the preprint server medRxiv reports that potassium levels are often low in COVID-19 disease, mostly due to the urinary loss of potassium.
Results from Oxford University’s RECOVERY trial into existing drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 has found that dexamethasone reduced deaths by a third in ventilated coronavirus patients and by a fifth in coronavirus patients requiring oxygen. This is the first drug of its kind to be demonstrated to have a significant impact on COVID-19 mortality.
A new study by scientists from the U.S and U.K. and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports that there is no evidence of efficacy for the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) against infection with SARS-CoV-2 in hamsters or macaque models. This finding does not support the current widespread prophylactic and therapeutic use of HCQ in COVID-19.
A study on the effects of hydroxychloroquinei n macaques infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, , used alone or in combination with azithromycin, have been pre-published on Research Square, after their submission to Nature.
A new study has shown that anticardiolipin antibodies are associated with the novel coronavirus infection or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19.
A new study by scientists at Metro Infectious Disease Consultants and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 reports that the cytokine blocker tocilizumab is a useful adjunct to supportive medical care in severe COVID-19, with increased survival and a lower requirement for mechanical ventilation.
A study of electronic medical records from US Veterans Health Administration medical centers has found that hydroxychloroquine--with or without azithromycin--did not reduce the risk of ventilation or death and was associated with longer length of hospital stay.
The sacred oath taken by physicians during graduation from medical school to "First do no harm," the first words of the Hippocratic Oath, provides a strong impetus for a commentary just published in The American Journal of Medicine.
A new study published on the preprint site medRxiv in May 2020 reports on the efficacy of interferons in treating COVID-19. The research could help evaluate the place of such therapy in the management of this disease.
The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted as a potential treatment for Covid-19, is known to have potentially serious effects on heart rhythms.
A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examines changes in prescription patterns in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We recently received the death certificate for my mother, who died May 4 in an assisted living facility near New York City. "Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome" was the primary cause. And the secondary — no surprise — was "suspected COVID-19."
The purported "game-changer" anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, which was claimed to be effective in preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and also helping better outcomes in COVID-19 patients, seems to have failed in clinical trials.
A large observational study suggests that treatment with the antimalarial drug chloroquine or its analog hydroxychloroquine (taken with or without the antibiotics azithromycin or clarithromycin) offers no benefit for patients with COVID-19.