How Inhaled Nitric Oxide Could Treat COVID-19
UAB announced this week it will start testing inhaled nitric oxide as a treatment for COVID-19 patients.
The study is open to 200 patients at eight locations internationally, including UAB. To qualify for the study, patients must test positive for the virus, be in the intensive care unit (ICU) and be receiving oxygen through a ventilator.
Dr. Pankaj Arora heads UAB’s effort. He says they often use nitric oxide to treat patients with failing lungs. The gas has been shown to improve blood flow to areas of the lungs that are receiving air, which helps boost the amount of oxygen circulating in the bloodstream, according to UAB. The gas also reduces the stress on the right side of the heart, which has to work harder when the lungs are in distress, as they often are in COVID-19 patients. Lung failure is the leading cause of death for patients with the virus.
“Improvement in the lung function and oxygenation along with improvement in the heart functions is anticipated primarily because there’s an improvement in the ventilation-perfusion matching in the lungs with the inhaled nitric oxide,” Arora says.
Nitric oxide was also used during the 2003 SARS pandemic and showed that it not only helped increase oxygen in patients, but also had anti-viral properties, according to Dr. Vibhu Parcha, a clinical research fellow with UAB’s Department of Cardiovascular Disease.
“Since the current strain of the coronavirus is quite similar to the one circulating back then, there’s a very high likelihood that this effective treatment strategy might help our sickest of the COVID-19 patients,” Parcha says.
Arora says for the first 48 hours of treatment, patients in the study will inhale a gas mixture that’s 80 parts per million of nitric oxide, which he calls a high dose. After the first 48 hours, patients will be stepped down to a dose of 40 parts per million for another 24 hours. Arora says they’ll then be able to see if the patients’ oxygen levels increase.
But Parcha warns there are potential side effects of taking high doses of nitric oxide.
“There’s a situation called formation of methemoglobin, which is a protein in your blood which decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood,” Parcha says. “That just underlines the fact that all medical care in these times of unprecedented crisis should be done under the watch of a physician who is trained, who understands what we’re doing so that all adverse events that may develop are handled appropriately.”
UAB is one of only two centers currently recruiting patients, but Arora says a trial location at Lousiana State University should open soon. He says they expect to fill the 200 spots quickly, but that the trial itself could take anywhere from a few weeks to months.
Army Black Hawk helicopter forces two jetliners to abort landings at DCA
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he will ask Defense Department officials why an Army Black Hawk helicopter violated flight restrictions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Opinion: Curse other drivers? So do the pros — but they get fined
Formula 1 racing has a ban on cursing, with fines starting at about 46 thousand dollars. NPR's Scott Simon explains why drivers are darn unhappy with that.
I do think we should be having more TV weddings
As we enter wedding season, culture critic Linda Holmes suggests that we bring back the splashy TV wedding at full power.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese heads to a second 3-year term
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years. Opposition leader Peter Dutton conceded defeat.
After paying people to leave, one federal agency is scrambling to fill positions
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has opened up 73 jobs to internal candidates. They include roles just vacated by people who are receiving full pay and benefits through September.
The most exciting two minutes in sports is a show of ‘Latino excellence’
Latinos, many from outside the U.S. mainland, have risen in prominence in horseracing, from the grooms to some of the winningest jockeys.
