Henry Ford Health study suggests benefit for hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus treatment (COVID-19)

DETROIT – A study of the Henry Ford health system suggests that there is a benefit for hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19).

These the results come later The Food and Drug Administration rescinded its authorization for the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine and the The World Health Organization stopped evaluating it because an interim analysis found no benefit.

Henry Ford’s study was published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. It retrospectively analyzed more than 2,500 patients treated at the Henry Ford Health System between March 10 and May 2, dividing them into four groups: those who received only hydroxychloroquine, those who received only azithromycin, those who received both, and those who they received none.

The study found that 13% of people treated with hydroxychloroquine alone died, compared to 26.4% who were not treated with hydroxychloroquine.

“What we think was important in our study, in our patients, is that the patients were treated early,” said Dr. Marcus J. Zervos. “For hydroxychloroquine to be of benefit, it must be administered before the patient suffers from some of the severe immune reaction that can occur with COVID-19.”

Authorities said 82% of Henry Ford patients who received hydroxychloroquine received it within 24 hours of admission and 91% within 48 hours.

“When different studies have different results, it does not mean that it is completely inconsistent,” said Dr. Steven N. Kalkanis. “The differences in the patient population, the timing of the drug, the dosage of the drug, all of these can provide different results.”

At Henry Ford, hydroxychloroquine was dosed at 400 milligrams for two doses, followed by 200 milligrams twice daily for an additional four days, a different dose than in other studies.

Since the authorization for emergency use has been rescinded by the FDA, the researchers said that hydroxychloroquine is not used to treat patients at the Henry Ford Health System. They believe that more should be studied in the future.