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Groundbreaking COVID-19 Treatment Happening in London Ontario

Thursday, 7 May 2020 at 16:41

A Canadian team from London is the first in world to treat COVID-19 with specialized dialysis.

LONDON - A Canadian team from London Ontario is the first in the world to treat COVID-19 with specialized dialysis.

Dr. Chris McIntyre, Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute and Nephrologist at London Health Sciences Centre, is the first in the world to treat a patient with COVID-19 using a modified dialysis device.

The device gently removes a patient’s blood, modifies white blood cells and returns them to fight hyper inflammation. It is being tested with critically ill patients at London Health Sciences Centre. Dr. McIntyre explains how he came up with the idea. 

“Working in the intensive care unit (ICU), I was aware that more treatment options were needed in the fight against COVID-19This led to the idea of treating a patient’s blood outside of the body. We could reprogram white blood cells associated with inflammation to alter the immune response.”

The clinical trial will include up to 40 critically ill patients with COVID-19 at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital and University Hospital. Research participants will be randomized to receive either standard supportive care or standard supportive care in combination with this novel treatment. Dr. McIntyre says the research team will compare patient outcomes to determine if the treatment is effective.

“The ultimate goal is to improve patient survival and lessen their dependency on oxygen and ventilation. If effective, it’s possible that this treatment could be combined with other therapies. For example, this could be used to modulate inflammatory consequences while an antiviral drug is used to reduce the viral load.”

You can find more information about the project online here. 

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