New therapies, drugs as Bengal govt changes treatment protocol

KOLKATA: With the number of Covid cases surging fast in Bengal, the state health department has issued a new treatment protocol that officials believe will make Covid care more effective.

The new guideline also included two new therapies/drugs — monoclonal antibody cocktail and Molnupiravir — for the asymptomatic but high risk patients and symptomatic patients with certain co-morbidities to prevent the disease from progressing towards severe infection.

“Monoclonal antibody cocktail no doubt is very effective in preventing hospitalisation. We have used it on about 70 patients and found it more effective on the elderly with co-morbidities than younger patients with no co-morbidity,” said pulmonologist Raja Dhar of CMRI.

Other doctors in the city, who have been using monoclonal antibody cocktail, also vouched for this cocktail therapy which is a mix of two drugs — casirimivab and imdevimab.

The health department, too, had used about 300 vials of this on patients, including about 40 at state-run ID&BG Hospital, and found it effective. New protocol from the health department however has a rider mentioning the cocktail not much effective against Omicron.

The guideline has specified distinct protocol for three categories of the infected — asymptomatic, symptomatic with certain co-morbidities and symptomatically infected patients with certain clinical conditions irrespective of co-morbid conditions.

“We apprehend the number of patients needing treatment is going to shoot up. That is why the treatment and care protocol has been issued much in advance,” said a senior health official.

In addition to medications, dosages and category of patients who should get these medicines, the protocol also prescribes how to categorise patients for each category, how to monitor them and mentions about red flag warnings, kind of oxygen therapy depending on certain markers, investigative tests and other therapies.