Nine Catalan hospitals are participating in the first European clinical trial to prevent coronavirus in healthcare personnel. The trial, named EPICOS, will start in the next few days and will involve 4,000 healthcare professionals from all over Spain, and 62 hospitals. The objective is to evaluate the risk of developing covid-19 in high-risk healthcare personnel. One or two pharmaceuticals will be administered preventively and randomly, and compared to a placebo group. The trial wants to specifically compare the preventive efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, HIV antiretrovirals (emtricitabine/disoproxyl tenofovir) and the combination of the two.
Of the 62 Spanish hospitals participating in the trial, the nine Catalan ones are: Hospital Clínic, Sant Pau, Hospital del Mar, Sant Joan de Déu, Josep Trueta, Quirón, Sagrat Cor, Dexeus and Teknon.
The EPICOS study is, according to the Catalan healthcare ministry, "the largest clinical study of its kind in Europe and one of the largest in the world". In addition to medical and nursing staff, a broad representation of all professions in the hospital field will also participate, such as ancillaries, pharmacists or radiology and laboratory technicians.
The first results could be available in four weeks. The preventive treatment will last 12 weeks, but monthly tests will be done to evaluate the effectiveness of each option.
The objective is to protect healthcare professionals and patients who could be unintentionally infected by staff who contracted the illness but show no symptoms.