PUNE: Careful tracking of blood creatinine levels in patients battling post-Covid mucormycosis can ease the pain of daily medication costs from Rs 35,000 to Rs 350, treating surgeons have found.
While the liposomal form of amphotericin injections a key drug against the infection is prohibitively priced, the conventional form of the same drug costs 100 times less but needs to be administered carefully, with a blood test every alternate day to rule out drug toxicity in the kidneys.
If creatinine levels are raised, the 21-day course of the drug can be finished with two to three “pit stops” also called “amphotericin holidays” to allow the body to normalise. Creatinine is a waste product that’s channeled out of the system via the kidneys.