The debate of whether Ivermectin should be used in the Covid-19 treatment is finally over.
Health Director-General, Dr Hisham Abdullah revealed that following the results of the I-TECH study by the Institute for Clinical Research (ICR), Ivermectin is only appropriate to be used in clinical studies with monitoring. The Ministry of Health (MOH) had also released a statement regarding the usage of Ivermectin and concluded that it cannot be recommended for inclusion in current Covid-19 treatment guidelines.
A number of 500 hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Category 2 and 3 were involved in the clinical trial study to evaluate the effectiveness of a 5-day Ivermectin treatment, as reported by Channel News Asia. The study was conducted by infectious disease physicians and clinicians who were actively involved in Covid-19 management.
One group of patients was given Ivermectin treatment, while the other group was given standard care based on the health ministry’s guidelines. The results have shown no major difference in terms of time taken for the disease to progress into a severe state, except for the side effect which mostly involved diarrhoea for the patients who took Ivermectin.
“The probability to recover from the symptoms on the fifth day among the two groups was almost similar,” Dr Hisham explained and proved that no statistically significantly differences were shown.
Dr Steven Lim Chee Loon, the lead researcher also revealed that there is no major difference between the 2 groups in the following aspects,
- ICU admissions
- Usage of breathing support equipment
- Recovery of symptom
- Blood test parameter
- Chest X-ray scans
Thus, it has been deduced that Ivermectin should not be recommended in the current Covid-19 treatment and does not reduce the risk of severe illnesses from the virus itself.
Dr Hisham also urged the people, especially the medical practitioners to not advertise nor sell Ivermectin illegally to treat the virus until more solid scientific evidence is presented.
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Also read: National Poison Centre Reports 2 Cases Of Poisoning Involving Ivermectin Consumption
