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Study led by Winnipeg doctor shows blood-thinner can keep COVID-19 patients out of ICU
A game-changing global study led by a Winnipeg physician has found that treating some hospitalized COVID-19 patients with blood thinners increases their chance of survival and reduces their need for intensive care.
The study looked at the effects of heparin, a generic blood thinner, in moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients in nine countries. The research shows that the blood thinner helps moderately ill patients, but is harmful and should not be used in patients who are already on life-support. In patients who don't yet need ICU care — receiving at most, supplemental oxygen — heparin helps to prevent serious blood-clot-related complications of COVID-19, such as thrombosis and organ failure, the new research shows.
The conclusion: blood thinners could reduce the need for ICU care in roughly 30 per cent of moderately ill patients.
Dr. Ryan Zarychanski, a Winnipeg hematologist, critical care physician and associate professor of internal medicine, University of Manitoba, is a senior author of the studies, which were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The research shows it's safe to give heparin to moderately ill COVID-19 patients. The findings are expected to quickly change the way COVID-19 patients are treated at the bedside because the medication is affordable and accessible. The results were announced in a livestreamed online broadcast Wednesday.
Zarychanski said the researchers are "very, very certain" of what he described as the straightforward findings of the trials.
"More patients will survive free of organ support. Less will be intubated, less will have thrombosis and there will be a small risk of major bleeding," he said during the virtual broadcast.
"The place where we're tightest on capacity is ICU; if you can reduce the number of people who have to go to the ICU by 30 per cent, that has a really big impact on the health-system stability and our ability to respond to COVID."
A game-changing global study led by a Winnipeg physician has found that treating some hospitalized COVID-19 patients with blood thinners increases their chance of survival and reduces their need for intensive care.
The study looked at the effects of heparin, a generic blood thinner, in moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients in nine countries. The research shows that the blood thinner helps moderately ill patients, but is harmful and should not be used in patients who are already on life-support. In patients who don't yet need ICU care — receiving at most, supplemental oxygen — heparin helps to prevent serious blood-clot-related complications of COVID-19, such as thrombosis and organ failure, the new research shows.
The conclusion: blood thinners could reduce the need for ICU care in roughly 30 per cent of moderately ill patients.
Dr. Ryan Zarychanski, a Winnipeg hematologist, critical care physician and associate professor of internal medicine, University of Manitoba, is a senior author of the studies, which were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The research shows it's safe to give heparin to moderately ill COVID-19 patients. The findings are expected to quickly change the way COVID-19 patients are treated at the bedside because the medication is affordable and accessible. The results were announced in a livestreamed online broadcast Wednesday.
Zarychanski said the researchers are "very, very certain" of what he described as the straightforward findings of the trials.
"More patients will survive free of organ support. Less will be intubated, less will have thrombosis and there will be a small risk of major bleeding," he said during the virtual broadcast.
"The place where we're tightest on capacity is ICU; if you can reduce the number of people who have to go to the ICU by 30 per cent, that has a really big impact on the health-system stability and our ability to respond to COVID."
Aug 2021: Study led by Winnipeg doctor shows blood-thinner can keep COVID-19 patients out of ICU
A game-changing global study led by a Winnipeg physician has found that treating some hospitalized COVID-19 patients with blood thinners increases their chance of survival and reduces their need for i...
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