Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of early studies on ivermectin in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, has been repurposed for COVID-19 treatment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Although its antiviral efficacy was confirmed early in vitro and in preclinical studies, its clinical efficacy remained ambiguous. Our purpose was to assess the efficacy of ivermectin in terms of time to viral clearance based on the meta-analysis of available clinical trials at the closing date of the data search period, one year after the start of the pandemic. This meta-analysis was reported by following the PRISMA guidelines and by using the PICO format for formulating the question. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO. Embase, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), bioRvix, and medRvix were searched for human studies of patients receiving ivermectin therapy with control groups. No language or publication status restrictions were applied. The search ended on 1/31/2021 exactly one year after WHO declared the public health emergency on novel coronavirus. The meta-analysis of three trials involving 382 patients revealed that the mean time to viral clearance was 5.74 days shorter in case of ivermectin treatment compared to the control groups [WMD = -5.74, 95% CI (-11.1, -0.39), p = 0.036]. Ivermectin has significantly reduced the time to viral clearance in mild to moderate COVID-19 diseases compared to control groups. However, more eligible studies are needed for analysis to increase the quality of evidence of ivermectin use in COVID-19

A kockázatmegosztási megállapodások adminisztrációs terhei Magyarországon – Irány az automatizáció?

Az adminisztratív teher nagysága nem elsődleges szempont, mégis megkerülhetetlen tényező a különféle kockázatmegosztási konstrukciók kialakításakor. Elő- fordulhat, hogy a várható adminisztratív teher fontos támogatáspolitikai célokat segítő technikák bevezetését jelentősen korlátozza. A dilemma feloldását segítheti a szerződések felállításához és monitorozásához szüksé- ges erőforrások átgondolt tervezése, és ezek minél kevesebb erőforrásból történő kialakítása. Ennek fon- tos eleme a strukturált és automatizált adatfeldolgozás, és az eredmények szakszerű, rendszeres és gyors értel- mezése. Ilyen automatizált munkával jelentős erőforrá- sok szabadíthatók fel, miközben az emberi tényező okozta hibák előfordulása is csökkenthető. Ebben a véleménycikkben az automatizáció peremfeltételeit, illetve használatának előnyeit és hátrányait gyűjtöttük össze. | The extent of administrative burden is usually not a primary consideration during the development risk sharing arrangements, however, it should still receive appropriate attention. It may happen that the expected administrative burden limits the introduction of risk sharing methods that would otherwise support key reimbursement policy goals. Possible solution to this dilemma would be a careful planning of the resources that are needed to setup and monitor the arrangements. This should include structured and automated data processing and fast, systematic and professional inter- pretation of results. By such automated work, signifi- cant resources could be saved, and the occurrence of human errors could also be reduced. In this opinion paper, we have collected the pre-conditions of automa- tization as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this approach