It was discovered during a clinical trial that the medication caused serious bleeding in several of the subjects.
A study has revealed that a blood-thinning medication that is frequently given to Covid patients who have been released from the hospital is ineffective and has harmful side effects. According to reports, Apixaban, the medicine in question, can lead to serious bleeding. The anticoagulant is frequently described as “the patients’ life saver.”
The UK government-funded effort Heal Covid study, however, discovered that this might not be the case.
“These first findings from Heal-Covid show us that a blood-thinning drug, commonly thought to be a useful intervention in the post-hospital phase, is actually ineffective at stopping people dying or being readmitted to hospital,” said Professor Charlotte Summers, chief investigator of the trial. She was quoted by The Guardian.
Experts from Addenbrooke’s and Cambridge University managed the trial. The medication was administered to 402 subjects.
Many of them had to stop taking the medication after experiencing serious bleeding. Additionally, the study discovered that giving Apixaban did not significantly reduce the likelihood of recovering individuals being admitted to a hospital.
“This finding is important because it will prevent unnecessary harm occurring to people for no benefit,” Summers added. She is intensive care doctor at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, UK. “This trial is the first robust evidence that longer anticoagulation after acute Covid-19 puts patients at risk for no clear benefit,” said Dr Mark Toshner, the co-chief investigator of the study. “Our hope is that these results will stop this drug being needlessly prescribed to patients with Covid-19 and we can change medical practice,” he added.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
