NIH Selects University Of Pittsburgh To Take Part In Clinical Trials Examining Coronavirus And Blood Clot Risks
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The University of Pittsburgh is taking part in a clinical trial that is examining adult COVID-19 patients at risk for developing blood clots, which can be life threatening.
Pitt was selected to be part of the trio of Phase 3 clinical trials by the National Institutes of Health, of NIH.
The trials are focusing on something called ACTIV-4 Antithrombotics, which are better known as blood thinners or anticoagulants.
They keep "blood protein and platelets from turning into clumps or sticking to each other."
According to Pitt, the reason for the study is that researchers have found that "many patients who have died from COVID-19 formed blood clots," including in their smallest blood vessels.
Pitt says, "This unusual clotting, one of many life-threatening effects of the disease, causes multiple health complications, from lung and other organ damage to heart attacks, pulmonary embolism and strokes."
"Understanding how to treat coagulation risk in COVID-19 patients is critical to lessening the impact of this pandemic. Pitt's ability to innovate and collaborate enables us to help ensure that these trials will be completed with the rigor and speed necessary to make an impact at this critical moment. In collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and our peer institutions, we will use the combined tools of biology and statistics to advance the treatments of this deadly virus."
These trials aim to figure out if and when in the course of COVID-19 treatment, blood thinners might be effective for patients with blood clot risks.
Other universities participating in the study include -- Harvard University, New York University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Vermont.
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