The World Health Organization has launched solidarity clinical trials along with its partners. It is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment including vaccine for the coronavirus.
The solidarity trials will be tried with four types of treatments. The analysis of the trial is monitored by the Global Data and Safety Monitoring Committee which consists of an independent group of experts.
Who can volunteer for solidarity trials?
Trials cannot be performed on anyone randomly. First, people will have to register and if they meet the requirements only then will they be signed up to undergo trials.
The prime factor is age. Only those 18 years old and above can opt to register for the trial. They must be adults suffering from the coronavirus and must be admitted in the participant hospitals.
At the outset, those willing to go for trials will be asked to sign the acknowledgement paper that states that the person is voluntarily agreeing to the trial knowing well the medical procedures of treatment he/she has to undergo.
Then the medical team assigned to the person checks if the patient is suitable to undergo trials.
However, the treatment method is not chosen by the patient or the medical team. Instead, the task is completed by a computer program that randomly chooses patients and allocates them for one method of treatment among the four.
The analyzed information is collected at the randomization stage when the patient is either getting discharged or dies in hospital during treatment. The analysis includes facts, the drugs used, the date of discharge and ventilation or intensive care details.
Medicine under test
The four types of drugs under test are remdesivir; chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine; lopinavir with ritonavir and lopinavir with ritonavir plus Interferon beta-1a.
Those with conditions including diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease, chronic liver disease and asthma, extending to HIV and tuberculosis are not preferred.
The medical teams thoroughly check for complaints like shortness of breath, whether the patient is being given oxygen, already on a ventilator, and, if lungs impaired, major bilateral abnormality and then decide if the person can be taken in for trials.
