Almitrine bismesylate in COVID-19 [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
To determine whether administration of almitrine bismesylate can ameliorate hypoxaemia in Covid-19 and augment effectiveness of supplementary oxygen therapy and respiratory support
IRAS ID
282381
Contact name
Nick Talbot
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Eudract number
2020-002567-57
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN11713182
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
TBC, TBC
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 2 days
Research summary
A major feature of severe COVID-19 infection is a very low level of oxygen in the arterial blood. Normally, blood picks up oxygen as it comes back through the lungs by passing close to the gas in the lungs. The problem in COVID-19 is that much of that blood is passing through blood vessels in the lungs without ever coming close to the gas. This is called a ‘shunt flow’, and, if this gives an arterial oxygen that is very low, patients can be treated in specialist units by increasing levels of respiratory support including intubation and ventilation, or even the use of an artificial lung. This is called extracorporal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Unfortunately, there are very few specialist facilities for ECMO, and these will not be able to cope with the number of patients who could potentially benefit from such therapy. The idea in this application is to trial an old drug called almitrine that selectively reduces the shunt blood flow, where the oxygen is low, and diverts it instead to regions of the lung where the blood can get close to the gas and the oxygen levels are higher. The result should be to increase the oxygen levels in the arterial blood supplying the tissues of the body. This should reduce the number of patients progressing to ever higher levels of dependency on respiratory support such as ECMO, and it may increase the survival rate.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NW/0415
Date of REC Opinion
23 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion