Covid-19 Drug Research: Chinese Study Shows That Antimalarial Drug Hydroxychloroquine No Better Than Standard Covid-19 Care
Source: Covid-19 Drug Research Mar 26, 2020 4 years, 4 weeks, 1 day, 4 hours, 5 minutes ago
Covid-19 Drug Research: A study conducted by researchers from the Department of Infection and Immunity, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai has shown that Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug dubbed a "gift from God" by US President Donald Trump for its potential ability to fight the Covid-19 disease, was found to be no more effective than standard treatment in the small study.
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The Covid-19 Drug research paper in the
Journal of Zhejiang University on March 6.
https://www.zjujournals.com/med/EN/10.3785/j.issn.1008-9292.2020.03.03 and also
https://subject.med.wanfangdata.com.cn/UpLoad/Files/202003/43f8625d4dc74e42bbcf24795de1c77c.pdf
The drug research study looked at 30 COVID-19 patients, half of whom received the medicine. After seven days, 13 of the patients who were on the drug tested negative, compared to 14 people who weren't on it.
Significantly, one of the patients on it went on to develop severe illness, while the median time taken for the individuals to recover was similar in both groups.
It should be noted that the sample size is considered too small to be statistically significant.
However a similar number of patients were examined in a recent French study that found the same drug to be highly effective at fighting the infection, especially when taken in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin.(
https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hydroxychloroquine_final_DOI_IJAA.pdf)
The French study triggered heightened global interest in hydroxychloroquine, and a related compound called chloroquine, which are synthetic forms of quinine and have for decades been used to treat malaria, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Last week,President Donald Trump announced his administration was working with pharmaceutical companies to expand access to the medicines so that more doctors can prescribe them "off label", meaning not for their original intended use.
President Trump has said they could be a "gift from God" and a "game changer," even as many scientists have cautioned against overhyping unproven medicines before large scale clinical trials are carried out.
Such clinical trial experiments are considered the gold standard in the field, last months or years and involve thousands of patients, often from around the world. Typically, patients are assigned at random to either receive the drug under investigation or a placebo, and the studies are "blinded" meaning the participants and their doctors are unaware which group they are in, to further reduce bias.
A middle-aged man in Arizona, meanwhile, died this week after he ingested a non-medical form of chloroquine used to fight parasites in aquariums. His wife, who also took the substance and was hospitalized, reported they had heard Trump talk about the benefits of the medicine and decided to
try it.
Thailand Medical News warns all concerned to not procur any experimental drugs or TCM herbs and use them by themselves. Always consult a licensed doctor as it could result in fatal occurrences or even complicated medical conditions.
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