An investigation in which a team of Dominican researchers participated in the United States determined the efficacy of the drug Remdesivir as an agent in preventing complications in patients positive for the Covid-19 virus who present mild symptoms.

The trial notes in its conclusions that patients with moderate to severe Covid-19 who were treated with remdesivir had a shorter recovery time and a lower risk of progression to more severe respiratory disease than patients who received placebo.

This drug has been part of the treatment protocol in the country since last year through the High-Cost Program and is applied in the diagnosis of severe Covid and is generally applied to hospitalized patients who present complications or are highly vulnerable to complications from the virus. With very good results.

Principal investigator

The principal investigator of one of the centers participating in the study in Miami is the renowned Dominican doctor, pediatrician Ausberto Hidalgo, who led a team made up of five people, including Dominicans Rafael Pérez, Carlos Batista, and William Molina, the latter a psychologist and researcher, who disclosed the information during a visit to Listín Diario.

The investigation results, where the name of Dr. Hidalgo appears, were published last January in the prestigious scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Hidalgo is the founder of South Florida Urgent Care Centers and the Physician Assistant Program at Miami Dade College.

center in the country

Dr. Hidalgo and Molina explained that the team’s interest is to set up a clinical research center in the Dominican Republic based on its experience in Miami, United States, which will allow the country to carry out its research on drug efficacy and other areas in the medical field.

Molina explained that they have already begun to have the first contacts to gather the requirements demanded by the country and with universities to integrate medical students into the process to promote research in the country.

“As a center, we want to contribute in the area of ​​clinical research in the Dominican Republic. Demonstrate that there are Dominicans with the necessary capacity to participate in rigorous processes recognized by the world for health purposes,” he said.

In addition to building a format where the new generation of Dominican doctors has the opportunity to participate, learn and apply clinical research while in our country, with the best preparation and guidance from Dominican doctors and researchers.

Recommended dose

After the study with Remdesivir, the researchers’ recommendation is to apply it in patients with a positive diagnosis with symptoms such as prevention of complications, in a dose of 300 mg intravenously, divided into 200 mg on the first day, 100 mg on the second day and the same amount on the third day.

The research involved non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who were at high risk of severe illness, showing that patients who received their assigned 3-day doses of remdesivir had an 87% lower risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death from COVID-19 any cause by day 28 and 81% lower risk of Covid-19-related medical visits or death from any cause by day 28 than patients who received placebo.