Coronavirus: From plasma therapy to Hydroxychloroquine, a list of all COVID treatment therapies which were discontinued

It has been over a year since we have been fighting against the pandemic, with the surge only getting stronger.

With no exact cure, medical experts are repurposing drugs and therapies to alleviate some of the symptoms associated with the disease. However, with almost minimal evidence, most of these treatments have been found to be majorly ineffective, and have been discontinued for use. Plasma therapy, which had been long pinned as a beneficial coronavirus 'treatment' therapy has now been dropped from clinical management guidelines, much to the ire of concerned families and patients.

However, it's not the only treatment plan to have been backtracked. Over the course of the year, doctors have tried their hand on multiple therapies, but only some of them are consequently helpful. We detail you about all the therapies and treatment plans which were tried out, only to be discontinued later...

Until recently, social media was flooded with demands of convalescent plasma from recovered COVID patients, which was presumed to be a life-saving treatment for moderate and severely ill COVID patients. However, the use and benefits of convalescent plasma in COVID recovery or plasma therapy have been found to be limited. Now, after several doctors and scientific experts wrote to the ICMR warning of its 'irrational' use, the apex medical body has officially delisted plasma therapy as a COVID treatment plan.

The revision in guidelines comes after it was observed that plasma therapy did not benefit the speedier recovery of COVID-19 patients, and did not hold sufficient promise in reducing the progression of disease or fatalities. Most recently, in the letter marked to the ICMR and top doctors of the country, experts have also opinionated that plasma therapy could be 'irrational', show little to no promising evidence in benefitting COVID patients and added that misuse of antibodies could further 'raise the possibility of more virulent strains developing during the pandemic'.

There have also been limitations surrounding its use- not every COVID patient can use it, neither can every recovered COVID patient donate it.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an antiviral malaria treatment drug was largely considered to be a frontrunner in the therapeutic standard of care and soon enough, ran off shelves in markets. However, the use of the same was repeatedly under question from WHO and global health authorities, and some even remarked on its 'less' favourable outcomes in COVID cases. Ultimately, the drug was dismissed after discrepancies were found in its prophylactic use.

A report tabled in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), underlined that it did not work for critically ill patients. Further, in another study done in New York, which was the hotbed for infections, it was seen that using HCQ did not show extensive results and even induced certain side effects not seen before.

In another report conducted by French researchers, it was seen that HCQ did not help lessen the strain of critical cases post-admission and did not prevent patients from developing acute respiratory distress.

Ivermectin, a popular antiparasitic drug was part of the COVID treatment kit until a while ago. However, the early use of the same continues to be seen in many states, which is questionable.

The WHO (World Health Organisation), too, has warned authorities against indiscriminate, radical use of Ivermectin in COVID-19 cases, unless they are part of a clinical trial.

There have been no researches which have held Ivermectin to be safe and effective, or render useful in COVId treatment plans. Not only is the antiparasitic drug known to cause some side effects, global clinical studies observed that the drug carried a lack of 'safety approach', which made doctors hesitant to dole out the drug.

Some doctors also believe that to treat an infection as major as COVID-19, one needs a powerful, stronger dose of a drug like ivermectin, which still may show limited help and falls out of the regulatory limits and may induce toxicity. Hence, ivermectin use has been largely curtailed and shows little to no effect in stopping the growth of viral cells or reducing severity.

Early during the course of the pandemic, the use of anti-HIV drug combination, Lopinavir/Ritonavir was used at a large scale across countries after evidence suggested its benefits. However, the drug too came into the limelight after the WHO called for the discontinuation of the HIV drugs post its solidarity trials.

Again, much like other medicines, there has been limited use of the Lopinavir/Ritonavir combination against COVID-19. While it is also an antiviral drug, studies went on to prove that the medicine produced little to no reduction in the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients when compared to standard of care. Thus, its use has been substantially cut out.

While medicines like azithromycin, doxycycline continue to be prescribed for COVID patients with mild symptoms under home care, there have been multiple studies that have highlighted their limited effects in curbing viral growth.

Even though their therapeutic effects are yet to be formally tabulated or reviewed, a lot of independent studies and doctor-backed researchers have questioned the use of this antibiotic course of treatment in reducing COVID symptoms or their severity. Even so, medical experts do assert that there need to be proper protocols that are followed since they can present a high risk of superimposed bacterial infections on top of COVID.

Coronil, a traditional COVID remedy backed by yoga guru Baba Ramdev has been in the centre of hot waters from the time of its launch. While the use of the same was marketed as an 'immuno-booster' and Patanjali group backing enough research on the same, controversy arose when the WHO said that none of the traditional therapies have been looked into, or approved for therapeutic COVID treatment.