Friday, January 8, 2021
San Juan Regional Medical Center Offering Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for Treatment of COVID-19
San Juan Regional Medical Center is now offering Monoclonal Antibody infusions (Bamlanivimab or Casirivimab/Imdevimab) for non-hospitalized patients with confirmed mild to moderate coronavirus infection. These investigational medicines could help reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations when given to eligible patients within 10 days of the onset of symptoms.
There is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using these therapies to treat people with COVID-19. However, in Bamlanivimab trials, 1.6% of patients who received the infusion therapy progressed to hospitalization, compared to 6.3% who received a placebo. Similarly, 3% of those who received Casirivimab and Imdevimab compared to 9% of those who received placebo progressed to Emergency Department visits and/or hospitalization.
San Juan Regional Medical Center is offering the infusions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. To be considered, patients must meet the following criteria:
- Must be within 10 days of onset of symptoms
- Must not require hospitalization or new or increased oxygen requirements
- Must be 18 years or older
- Must have risk factors for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms or the need for hospitalization. These risk factors include:
o BMI greater than or equal to 35
o Chronic kidney disease
o Diabetes
o Immunosuppressive disease, or receiving immunosuppressive therapy
o Cardiovascular disease
o Hypertension
o COPD and/or other chronic respiratory disease
Patients can be referred for Monoclonal Antibody Infusions through the Emergency Department, Urgent Care or their primary care physician. If you have recently been diagnosed with COVID-19 and feel you may be a candidate, contact your primary care provider immediately to see if you qualify for this treatment.
Infusions are given intravenously and take one hour to administer. The side effects of getting any medicine by vein may include brief pain, bleeding, bruising of the skin, soreness, swelling, and possible infection at the infusion site. Since these are investigational therapies still being studied, it is possible not all of the risks are known at this time. To learn more, ask your primary care provider and visit the National Institutes of Health website: https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/