Tuesday, 19 March, 2024
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US judge orders administration of Ivermectin to comatose patient

At request of her family an Illinois judge has ordered that a comatose woman suffering from COVID-19 to be administered Ivermectin, against the advice of her doctors, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Nurije Fype, 68, has been in intensive care at the hospital since early April and is now on a ventilator, according to testimony at the court hearing. Her daughter, Desareta Fype, is pushing for her mother to receive Ivermectin, a medication that the US Food and Drug Administration says may be unsafe.

Another federal agency, the National Institutes of Health, has taken a more measured stance, saying that while the drug is well-tolerated when used for its intended purposes, there isn’t enough information to allow a recommendation “for or against” using it to treat COVID-19.

Elmhurst Hospital’s attorney, Joseph Monahan, said at the hearing none of its doctors would agree to administer Ivermectin for COVID-19, and that an internal ethics panel concluded its use couldn’t be justified. He argued that judges shouldn’t overrule medical decisions.

“(The court) doesn’t have the authority to order a medical corporation to use particular medications, particularly when it’s an off-label use, particularly when the federal government has said it could be dangerous,” he said.

He suggested Desareta Fype could transfer her mother to another facility where doctors would be willing to use the medication, but Judge James Orel seemed astonished at the suggestion. “Let me get this right: The hospital is willing to transfer a woman in a coma with COVID?” he said. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

Orel pointed to an affidavit from Fype’s physician, Dr William Crevier, in which the doctor said he has used the drug successfully for COVID-19 patients since last year. If Elmhurst Hospital’s doctors don’t want to use Ivermectin, Orel said, they should allow Crevier to administer it.

“Why wouldn’t this be tried if she’s not improving?” Orel said. “Why does the hospital object to providing this medication? If someone has been in the ICU for a month and not improving, why would the hospital not consider another medication?”

It was still not clear, however, whether the hospital would allow Fype to receive the medication. Orel said he expected the case to head to an appellate court, and when he asked Monahan if the hospital was going to follow his order, the attorney replied, “I will talk to my client.”

Full report in the Chicago Tribune(Open access)

See also from the MedicalBrief archives:

 

Ivermectin climbdown comes with multimillion price tag for SAHPRA and DoH

 

‘Significant’ risk to dispensing SA’s unregistered Ivermectin

 

SAHPRA shifts responsibility for Ivermectin use to doctors

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