UMass Memorial expanding criteria for coronavirus drug
Photo | Grant Welker
UMass Memorial Medical Center's University Campus in Worcester
UMass Memorial Medical Health Care is expanding criteria for patients being treated with remdesivir, a drug that in studies has been shown to treat coronavirus symptoms.
The Worcester-based hospital system is now able to give remdesivir to patients who've tested positive or if they have an oxygen saturation of less than 94% on room air, meaning the virus has required them to be given supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval for use of the antiviral drug to help treat coronavirus patients. The FDA said May 1 a clinical trial showed remdesivir shortened the recovery time for some patients but that limited information remained about the safety and effectiveness of using the drug.
UMass Memorial Medical Center President Michael Gustafson said in a Worcester Business Journal web forum on May 21 the hospital had treated almost 100 patients with remdesivir through a clinical trial.
The broader criteria for patients went into effect Friday, according to a staff-wide memo sent Saturday.
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