The Medical Center in Bowling Green is finding success in an outpatient treatment for COVID-19.
The hospital has given more than 500 monoclonal antibody infusionsto patients with underlying health conditions who may be at risk of being hospitalized, or who might have a more serious case of the virus.
The treatment is offered through drug-makers Eli Lilly and Regeneron.
“Both of these have been found to shorten the duration of the worst of the symptoms and help to decrease the severity of the virus in many patients," said Dr. Melinda Joyce, Vice President of Corporate Support Services for Med Center Health.
Joyce said many people who have received the treatment report feeling better the next day. The Regeneron treatment is the same one that was given to former President Donald Trump when he became infected with the virus.
COVID-positive patients getting the infusion require only one outpatient visit that includes an hour for treatment and another hour for observation. Patients must be referred by their primary care doctor.
The antibody infusions are different from convalescent plasma used to treat hospitalized patients. The plasma has been harvested from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 while the monoclonal antibodies have been created in a laboratory.
