JOIN USCoronavirus: KIMS Hubballi a part of the ICMR's plasma therapy clinical trial
As many as 21 hospitals including Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubbali, will be part of the Indian Council of Medical Research’s clinical trial to test the efficacy of the much talked about plasma therapy for COVID-19.
Besides KIMS, the network of hospitals includes five from Maharashtra and four from Gujarat – the two worst-affected states.
Two hospitals each from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh; and one each from Punjab and Telangana complete the current pool of the sites.
Named PLACID, the ICMR trial would involve transfusion of plasma donated by a person recovered from Covid-19 to severely ill patients. Scientists in Wuhan saw improvement in severely ill patients within three days of transfusion of convalescent plasma.
ICMR’s pilot study in ten severely ill Covid-19 patients has demonstrated that it may be safe and a promising therapeutic option for severe infections.
While 21 sites received the council’s approval so far to be a part of the phase-II trial, 90 other hospitals approached the ICMR wanting to be a part of the trial. Those awaiting approvals include 13 more Karnataka hospitals.
Since the study design allows enrolment of 452 individuals, a decision has been taken not to rope in any more sites once 400 persons are recruited. The trial is already registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India.
The Union Health Ministry had earlier cautioned that convalescent plasma therapy was one of the emerging therapies that were tried only on seriously sick Covid-19 patients and it should never be considered as a “routine therapy” as it lacked scientific evidence. The ICMR trial is expected to fill the gap.
The PLACID trial is one of the 49 Covid-19 clinical trials registered with the CTRI. While most of the trials are to test the utility of repurposed drugs like hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma therapy, there are at least half-a-dozen trials to evaluate the efficacy of homeopathy medicines. Additionally, one trial has been planned to examine Dabur Chavanparsh (an Ayurvedic concoction) as a preventive remedy.