Amidst the increasing number of COVID-19 deaths around the world, physicians at one of New York City’s major hospital systems have indicated the possibilities of anticoagulants or blood thinners being effective in boosting the coronavirus survival rates.
Blood thinners, which are used to slow down clotting, can effectively treat and manage patients of coronavirus as soon as they are admitted to the hospital. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published the results on Wednesday, as obtained by the analysis conducted by Mount Sinai Hospital. ”This research demonstrates anticoagulants taken orally, subcutaneously, or intravenously may play a significant role in caring for COVID-19 patients, and these may prevent possible deadly events associated with coronavirus, including heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism,” Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital Valentin Fuster said.
“Using anticoagulants should be considered when patients get admitted to the ER and have tested positive for COVID-19 to possibly improve outcomes. However, each case should be evaluated on an individualized basis to account for potential bleeding risk.”
The results obtained were based on the records of 2,733 COVID-19 patients admitted to five different hospitals in NYC’s largest hospital systems between Mar 14 and Apr 11, 2020. The patients belonged to the age group of 33 to 49 years. The doctors observed the survival rates of those who were placed on blood thinners and also those who were not treated with the anticoagulants. Keeping into consideration the factors like age, pre-existing medical conditions, and those already under the blood thinner treatment, the physicians evaluated how effective the use of it would prove to be for the patients.
Fuster, in an interview, said that the study conducted was based on random records, and there are other broader conclusions to come to for a sure-shot formula. In addition, however, he agreed that the results of using blood thinner on COVID-19 patients have been promising enough. “My opinion is cautious, but I must tell you I think this is going to help. This is the opening of the door for what drugs to use and what questions to answer,” he said.