Emergency department use of monoclonal antibody therapy in high risk COVID positive patients

Abstract

Background: There have been many perceived barriers to the implementation of the mass use of monoclonal antibody therapy following the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization in November 2020. These barriers include identifying eligible patients, physical resources including trained staff members, space, and materials for the administration away from others to reduce transmission, and cost of the resources. However, Lakeland Regional Health was able to create a safe and efficient protocol to administer Bamlanivimab in the treatment of high risk COVID positive patients and initiate this proposed pathway within 24 hours of receipt of the first shipment of medication.
Methods: Critical to the development and success of this protocol was a multi-disciplinary approach focused on identifying and utilizing preexisting resources to ensure safe and efficient administration of this treatment to as many eligible patients as possible. Another crucial aspect was the utilization of the emergency department providers for identifying high risk eligible patients and as a safe and effective treatment setting.
Results: This article is intended to demonstrate a best practice pathway to identify and administer Bamlanivimab, or similar treatments, and will not discuss outcomes or efficacy of the medication. To date Lakeland Regional Health has successfully treated over 1,000 high risk COVID-19 positive patients within our community.
Conclusions: By identifying and utilizing similar resources and pathways available at individual medical centers, it is possible to safely and efficiently treat high risk COVID positive patients with monoclonal antibody therapy on a large scale.