KUALA LUMPUR: Based on the outcomes of the I-TECH study by the Institute for Clinical Research (ICR), Ivermectin cannot be recommended for inclusion in the current COVID-19 treatment guidelines as it does not reduce the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement today said this was because Ivermectin did not reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 disease.

"MOH (Ministry of Health) recommends that Ivermectin be used only in clinical studies with monitoring," he said.

According to him, the results of the I-TECH study are in line with the large-scale studies such as IVERCOR-COVID-19 from Argentina and TOGETHER from Brazil that do not support the routine use of Ivermectin in the clinical practice of COVID-19 treatment.

The I-TECH research team planned to submit the study data for publication in a peer-reviewed journal to provide additional information on the Ivermectin studies including meta-analysis, he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the I-TECH study was conducted on 500 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital in Stage two or three categories by evaluating the effectiveness of a five-day Ivermectin treatment (0.4mg/kg/day) with Ivermectin standard of care (IVM group) compared to just the standard of care (SOC group).

"The SOC treatment for the group undergoing it was based on the Health Ministry's guidelines for COVID-19 patients in 20 government hospitals and the COVID-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) 2.0.

"The clinical trial study was conducted by infectious disease physicians and clinicians who were actively involved in COVID-19 management in collaboration with ICR under the National Institute of Health.

"The I-TECH study was to see whether the administration of Ivermectin in the first week on patients experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 could prevent them from getting worse (Stage four or five) which was among patients aged 50 years and above and having at least one comorbidity," he said.

He added that the I-TECH lead researcher, Dr Steven Lim Chee Loon, infectious disease specialist from the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, revealed that no significant difference was found in terms of ICU admission, usage of breathing support equipment, recovery of symptoms, blood test parameter and chest X-ray scans among the two groups.

"The probability to fully recover from the symptoms on the fifth day among the two groups was almost similar, where there was no statistically significant difference recorded (p=0.77).

"Apart from that, the safety analysis reported a three-fold occurrence of side effects among the IVM group, compared with the SOC group, of which most of them were diarrhoea cases.

"It is hoped that the local study could provide enlightenment to medical practitioners in Malaysia and the public who have been asking about the efficacy of Ivermectin in the COVID-19 clinical treatment practice," he said.

He also reminded medical practitioners not to recommend the use of Ivermectin, including sharing advertisements or illegal sale of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 until more solid scientific evidence is available.

-- BERNAMA