Aspirin is commonly used as an anticoagulant (pictorial)
Aspirin, a drug commonly used as a blood thinner, will now be evaluated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in one of the UK’s largest trials looking at a range of potential treatments for the disease.
Patients infected with the new coronavirus are at a higher risk of blood clots due to hyper-reactive platelets, the cell fragments that help stop bleeding. Aspirin is an antiplatelet agent and may reduce the risk of clots, the RECOVERY trial website said on Friday.
“There is a clear rationale for believing that it (aspirin) might be beneficial, and that it is safe, inexpensive and widely available,” said Peter Horby, co-chief investigator of the trial.
At least 2000 patients are expected to receive 150 mg of aspirin at random per day along with the usual regimen. The data from these patients will be compared to at least 2,000 other patients who are receiving standard of care alone, the website showed.
Other treatments tested in the RECOVERY trial included the common antibiotic azithromycin and the Regeneron antibody cocktail that was used to treat the symptoms of COVID-19 from US President Donald Trump.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
