The study, led by researchers in Brazil, included 504 patients with confirmed Covid-19 who either did not need supplemental oxygen or received up to 4 liters per minute of oxygen. The study was carried out in 55 hospitals in Brazil.
Patients were randomly assigned to receive any of the standards of care; hydroxychloroquine at a dose of 400 mg twice a day; or hydroxychloroquine at a dose of 400 mg twice a day, plus azithromycin at a dose of 500 mg once a day for seven days. The researchers then evaluated how the patients were doing 15 days later.
Neither hydroxychloroquine alone nor hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin appeared to affect patients’ condition at the 15-day mark, the study showed.
In addition, unusual heart rhythms and elevated liver enzyme levels were more frequent in patients who received hydroxychloroquine alone or with azithromycin, according to the study.
Overall, the researchers wrote that “among hospitalized patients with mild to moderate Covid-19, use of hydroxychloroquine, alone or with azithromycin, did not improve clinical status at 15 days compared to standard care.”
The study was funded by the Covid-19 Brazil Coalition and EMS Pharma, a pharmaceutical company in Brazil.
The National Institutes of Health announced last month that they would suspend their clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine for patients with coronavirus.
A study published this month by researchers at the Henry Ford Health System in Southeast Michigan found that hydroxychloroquine increases the chances of survival for hospitalized patients. However, researchers who were not involved in the study criticized it, saying it was not of the same quality as previous studies that showed that hydroxychloroquine did not help patients.
.
