A severely ill COVID-19 patient at UPMC Memorial hospital in Shiloh, Pa., received a dose of ivermectin Nov. 6 after a court order issued Nov. 3, USA Today reports.
Last week, Darla Smith, the wife of patient Keith Smith, 52, who was on a ventilator in a medically induced coma, filed a lawsuit in York County Court in an effort to get UPMC to administer ivermectin — which the FDA has warned against using to treat COVID-19 — to her husband.
In what USA Today described as a confusing ruling, the judge denied Ms. Smith's request for an emergency injunction to require the hospital to administer the drug, but a paragraph in the court order directed UPMC to allow a prescribing physician, another physician or registered nurse to administer ivermectin under the doctor's "guidance and supervision."
Before the ruling, UPMC told Darla Smith it does not administer the drug because it is not an FDA-approved COVID-19 treatment.
After the judge's ruling, Darla Smith contacted Tarik Farrag, MD, a physician who is part of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which supports the use of ivermectin to treat the disease. Dr. Farrag prescribed the drug, and a nurse who is not employed by UPMC administered it.
It's unclear whether Mr. Smith's condition changed after receiving the drug.