AIIMS study finds ivermectin prophylaxis reduces infection in Covid-19 patients

A study by All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha has found that two doses of potential drug ivermectin prophylaxis resulted in a 73% reduction in Covid-19 infection.

The study was conducted on healthcare workers (HCWs) who are at risk of virus exposure, between 20 September and 19 October by 12 physicians of AIIMS-Bhubaneshwar.

Ivermectin is said to be one among several potential drugs which is currently being trialled for its therapeutic and preventive role in Covid-19 infection.

Performed on two sets of HCWs, the study was aimed at evaluating the association between the drug and development of Covid-19 infection, The New Indian Express reported.

In the two-cohort study, one set of HCWs was given two-dose ivermectin prophylaxis at a dose of 300 μg/kg with a gap of 72 hours while workers in the other set were administered other prophylaxis.

With around 4,600 employees, over 625 employees of the institute have been tested positive for Covid-19.

The month-long study was conducted on 372 participants which included doctors, nurses, paramedics and sanitisation workers.

Based on WHO risk assessment guidelines, the list of participants was made by the contact tracing team of the institute depending on subjects’ exposure to the disease.

AIIMS Director and corresponding author of the study Gitanjali Batmanabane said: “Earlier, at least 20 to 25 HCWs were getting infected with the virus daily. After the workers started taking ivermectin, the number of infection has come down to one or two per day.”

Following ICMR guidelines, HCWs of AIIMS Bhubaneswar were advised to use hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prophylaxis from 11 April along with the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) depending on their place of posting.

However, on account of known side-effect, the uptake was not encouraging.

The study further found that single-dose of the potential drug has no association with the reduction of infection in Covid-19 patients.