[ad_1]
Hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, called a “game changer” against the coronavirus (COVID-19), is not effective against the disease, according to a study. The study raises concerns about the widespread use of the drug by many governments around the world in the fight against the pandemic.
The not-yet-peer-reviewed study, published on the preprint server medRxiv, performed a retrospective analysis of inpatients with COVID-19 at all US Veterans Health Administration medical centers. USA
Scientists, including those from the University of South Carolina in the United States, looked at the associations between the use of drugs hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and the corresponding clinical results.
According to the researchers, hydroxychloroquine, alone or in combination with azithromycin, is being widely used in anecdotal evidence-based COVID-19 therapy.
In the study, scientists evaluated data on hospitalized patients with confirmed infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, at all U.S. Veterans Health Administration medical centers through April 11.
They classified 368 patients according to their exposure to hydroxychloroquine alone, or to azithromycin, in addition to the standard supportive treatment for COVID-19.
The two primary outcomes observed in the study were death and the need for mechanical ventilation.
Based on the findings, the scientists said there is no evidence that the use of hydroxychloroquine reduces the risk of mechanical ventilation in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The scientists said they took into account the variation in the baseline characteristics of the patients in the three groups.
“The use of hydroxychloroquine with or without co-administration of azithromycin did not improve mortality or reduce the need for mechanical ventilation in hospitalized patients,” the scientists wrote in the study.
In contrast, they said, the use of hydroxychloroquine alone was associated with an increased risk of death compared to standard care alone.
“While ongoing randomized controlled trials are expected to provide more informative evidence for hydroxychloroquine in the coming months, the results seen in our study represent the best available data,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Some limitations of the research, mentioned by the scientists, include the possibility of selection bias of the study participants.
They said the study included only men whose average age was over 65, adding that the results do not necessarily reflect the results in women or younger hospitalized populations.
“The results of this retrospective study suggest caution when using hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly when not combined with azithromycin,” the researchers concluded.
