National Ethics Commission approves 21 studies on COVID-19

The National Ethics and Research Commission (Conep) of Brazil’s National Health Agency approved 21 research protocols involving clinical tests with patients infected with the new coronavirus.

The tests are among the 76 studies on the pandemic that were approved on March 23, including epidemiological investigations and research on mental health during lockdown. At least 14 of them are being carried out in São Paulo, the state with the highest amount of cases and deaths caused by COVID-19. There are also studies under progress in Ceará, Amazonas, Paraná, and Rio de Janeiro.

The studies were submitted to the commission by 17 institutions and treatments involve some 8.7 thousand participants.

Diversity

In three clinical tests, scientists assess the use of hydroxychloroquine in patients, and the substance is administered in association with azithromycin in seven studies. There is also the research conducted by thee Tropical Medicine Foundation of the State University of Amazonas, on the use of the medication in 81 severe cases. These studies show how efficient hydroxychloroquine is and attempt to ascertain the best dose, as the substance may cause side effects like irregular heartbeat.

There are also three studies on the use of blood plasma of people who were cured from the coronavirus, as the one developed by researchers from hospitals Israelita Albert Einstein and Sírio-Libanês, and the Medical School of the University of São Paulo (USP). In a note published early this month, Brazil’s national sanitary watchdog Anvisa talked about “promising results,” which should not be seen as “definitive proof of the effectiveness of the treatment.”

The impact the virus has on HIV positive individuals, the physical and psychological effects of lockdown measures and contagion among health agents and patients are also among research topics in the report released Tuesday (14).

Conep Coordinator Jorge Venâncio says that any study surrounding the observation or experimentation in human beings must be approved by the commission, which adopted urgent procedures to assess coronavirus-related research in up to 72 hours, compared to the usual 30 days.

“We have received a large amount of studies [linked to the coronavirus]. Over 400 of them have reached Conep, in addition to the normal inflow,” Venâncio says. “This is very likely to continue.”