Hydroxychloroquine Shows No Virus Benefit, Raises Death Risk: Study
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 23, 2020 | 12:06 AM
A study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients has shown no benefit in treating them with anti-viral drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and even increased the likelihood of them dying in hospital
Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2020 ) :A study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients has shown no benefit in treating them with anti-viral drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and even increased the likelihood of them dying in hospital.
Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures including US President Donald Trump -- who announced this week he is taking the drug -- has prompted governments to bulk buy the medicine.
Chloroquine is an anti-malarial. Both drugs can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia.
And neither drug benefitted patients hospitalised with COVID-19, according to a study published on Friday in The Lancet.
Looking at the records of 96,000 patients across hundreds of hospitals, they found that administering the drugs actually increased the risk of dying.
They compared outcomes from four groups: those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone, with chloroquine alone, and then two groups given the respective drugs in combination with antibiotics.
There was also a control group of patients not given these treatments.
At the end of the study period around nine percent of those in the control group had died.
Of those treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone, 18 percent and 16.4 percent respectively had died.
And those given each drug in combination with antibiotics were even more likely to die: 22.8 percent with chloroquine and 23.8 percent with hydroxychloroquine.
The authors estimated that the drugs put patients at up to 45 percent higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with underlying health issues.
"Treatment with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine does not benefit patients with COVID-19," said Mandeep Mehra, lead author of the study and executive director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Advanced Heart Disease in Boston.
"Instead, our findings suggest it may be associated with an increased risk of serious heart problems and increased risk of death." - 'Landmark for treatment' - Despite Trump's enthusiasm for using hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, his own government's food and Drug Administration warns against it.
Brazil's health minister on Wednesday recommended using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat even mild COVID-19 cases.
Britain has ordered 35 million ($42 million) worth of hydroxychloroquine, despite numerous studies showing it is ineffective in treating COVID-19 and may even be more dangerous than doing nothing.
"Several countries have advocated use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, either alone or in combination, as potential treatments for COVID-19," said Frank Ruschitzka, director of the Heart Center at University Hospital Zurich and co-author of the study.
"We now know from our study that the chance that these medications improve outcomes in COVID-19 is quite low." Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the University of Leeds' school of Medicine said the Lancet research was "potentially a landmark study for COVID-19 therapy".
"The indications are that these drugs certainly ought not to be used outside of a trial setting where patients can be monitored for complications," said Griffin, who was not involved in the study.
"It is clear that high profile endorsements of taking these drugs without clinical oversight is both misguided and irresponsible."
Recent Stories
Dubai Police Marks International Workers' Day with 'Talabat' Riders
Sharjah Ruler inaugurates 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
Parineeti Chopra opens up about her decision to marry politician Raghav Chadha
PCB decides to set up training camp for national team ahead of England, Ireland ..
Virat Kohli's sweet birthday wish for Anushka Sharma
Interior Minister commends Pakistan Coast Guards
Pakistan women’s squad announced for England tour
Punjab CM Maryam inaugurates initiative of field hospitals
PM Shehbaz constitutes committee to investigate caretaker govt’s wheat import ..
Women T20I: Pakistan to face West Indies in fourth match tomorrow
Pak-UK 6th Regional Stabilization Conference underway at NDU, Islamabad
World Labor Day being observed today
More Stories From World
-
Football: South African Premiership results
56 minutes ago -
Football: South African Premiership table
56 minutes ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
1 hour ago -
Thirty years on, Brazil pays tribute to late F1 hero Senna
2 hours ago -
France among Euro 'favourites' but in 'tough group', Deschamps tells AFP
2 hours ago -
Alcaraz crashes, Sinner hobbles out of Madrid
2 hours ago
-
Floods strand dozens of tourists in Kenya's Maasai Mara
3 hours ago -
Colombia to cut diplomatic ties with Israel
3 hours ago -
Rublev sends two-time defending champion Alcaraz crashing in Madrid
3 hours ago -
Police tackle US campus protests as Los Angeles hit by clashes
3 hours ago -
Thousands rally in Georgia as 'foreign influence' bill advances
3 hours ago -
UK confirms first migrants held for Rwanda deportation flights
4 hours ago