According to Jane Adams, the Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) has launched a new clinical trial focusing on “COVID-19 and immunocompromised patients.”
Adams, the hospital’s Communications Lead, says the study will focus on Paxlovid, an antiviral medication for COVID-19 approved for use in Canada in January, and how treatment plans can be catered to immunocompromised people.
“For immunocompromised patients, the current five-day treatment protocol may not be long enough to fully clear the virus from the body,” Adams explains. “This study will explore the efficacy and safety of various treatment lengths, to determine the most effective protocol for these populations.”
That’s not the only new trial being launched at WDMH. Adams says another trial is being launched to test the effectiveness of a vaccine for E. coli, a bacteria that can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) that can spread through the body if left untreated.
“E. coli bacteria is becoming highly resistant to many antibiotics and this antibiotic resistance can lead to treatment failure, as well as increased hospitalization, mortality rates, and healthcare costs,” Adams says.
“This study will focus on patients 65+ with UTIs, who will receive either an E-Coli vaccine or a placebo,” she adds. “The goal is to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine in protecting from UTIs caused by the E-Coli bacteria and preventing the systemic bacterial infections that can follow.”
Adams says if an E. coli vaccine is developed, it would help prevent the bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotic medication.
These two new trials come just over a month after the hospital launched its first-ever trial, a three-year study of heart disease. You can read about all of WDMH’s clinical trials on its website.