A spate of recent media headlines have described blood thinning medications – which include aspirin and warfarin – as a “breakthrough treatment” for COVID-19 that could “save lives”.
It’s early days yet but a growing body of research evidence suggests COVID-19 causes abnormalities in blood clotting, which means blood thinning drugs may have a role to play in treatment.
Numbers of patient are found blood clotting and Blood clots in the veins often present in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) and are dislodged into the lungs (called pulmonary embolism); approximately one in four COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care will develop a pulmonary embolism (where an artery in the lungs gets blocked). In addition, COVID-19 appears to cause tiny blood clots that can block small vessels in the lungs. These “micro” blood clots may be a key reason why patients with COVID-19 often have very low oxygen levels.
Because the rate of blood clotting is so high, all people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should receive a low dose of blood thinner medication to prevent blood clots. This prophylactic dose of blood thinner is standard across most hospitals in Australia.
It is important to note blood thinners are not without risk, as this treatment can increase the risk of bleeding. So without definite evidence to support the benefit of high dose blood thinners in all hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the decision to use higher doses of blood thinning medication outside of a clinical trial must be made on an individual basis.
This research demonstrates anticoagulants taken orally, subcutaneously, or intravenously may play a major role in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, and these may prevent possible deadly events associated with coronavirus, including heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200506/blood-thinners-could-boost-covid19-survival
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