RIYADH: The findings of an international study on the effectiveness of blood thinners in reducing COVID-19-related deaths have been published in the British Medical Journal, with the King Saud University Medical City Clinical Research Unit playing a key role. The comparative scientific research, which included King Saud University Medical City, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, studied the effect of blood thinners (heparin drugs) used daily for most patients in hospitals to alleviate dangerous side effects of COVID-19. In the Kingdom, 148 patients took part in the study, representing one-third of total participants around the world. Results show that deaths in a high-dose groups were less than those in a preventive dose group. Heparin drugs in the latter group were used as an anticoagulant to decrease harmful blood clotting. The head of the Saudi research team, Dr. Mosaed bin Hamoud Al-Hamza, vascular surgery consultant at King Saud University Medical City and general supervisor of the study in the Kingdom, said: “The research was based on the findings of survey studies at the beginning of the pandemic, which showed that some infected cases were exposed to arterial and venous clots that lead to severe complications.” He added that the results of the newest study might lead to a change in treatment protocols for some COVID-19 patients, specifically people hospitalized due to a lack of oxygen.