MUST READ!! Hydroxychloroquine: Study Shows Hydroxychloroquine Fails As A Prophylaxis Against COVID-19
Source: Hydroxychloroquine Jun 04, 2020 4 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 5 hours, 10 minutes ago
Hydroxychloroquine :The drug that has used to treat malaria and has been publicly touted by some as drug that can be used as a prophylaxis to prevent getting infected with COVID-19, has in a rigorous a detailed study been proven to be ineffective. The research by medical experts from the University Of Minnesota is the first large, high-quality study to test the drug effectiveness in health workers and others closely exposed to people with the disease.
The research findings were published yesterday in the medical journal
New England Journal of Medicine.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2016638?query=featured_home
Study results showed that hydroxychloroquine was no better than placebo pills at preventing illness from the coronavirus. The drug did not seem to cause serious harm, though as about 40% on it had side effects, mostly mild stomach problems.
Research leader, Dr David Boulware, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota told Thailand Medical News, "We were disappointed. We would have liked for this to work. But our objective was to answer the question and to conduct a high-quality study because the evidence on the drug so far has been inconclusive.”
The drug Hydroxychloroquine and a similar pharmaceutical, chloroquine, have been the subject of much debate since President Trump started promoting them in March despite not having any real and credible medical studies.
The drug has long been used for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, but no large studies have shown Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to be safe or effective for much sicker patients with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and some studies have suggested the drugs may do harm.
President Trump took a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine, along with zinc and Vitamin D, after two staffers tested positive for COVID-19, and had no ill effects, according to results of his latest physical released by his doctor.
US federal regulators have warned against their use except in hospitals and formal studies because of the risk of side effects, especially heart rhythm problems.
The new study involved 821 people in the United States and Canada living with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or at high risk of getting it because of their job ie doctors, nurses, ambulance workers who had significant exposure to a sick patient while not wearing full protective gear.
The study participants were randomly assigned to get either placebo pills or hydroxychloroquine for five days, starting within four days of their exposure.
For the study, neither they nor their doctors knew who who was getting what.
It was found that after 14 days in the study, 12% on the drug developed COVID-19 symptoms versus 14% in the placebo group, but the difference is so small it could have occurred by chance.
Dr Boulware added, "There is basically no effect. It does not prevent infection. Even if it were to give some slim advantage, we would want a much larger effect to justify its use and risk of side effects for preventing illness.&rdqu
o;
The study results were no different among a subgroup of participants who were taking zinc or vitamin C, which some people believe might help make hydroxychloroquine more effective.
Dr Peter Bach, director of a health policy center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York added, "This fits with everything else we've seen so far which suggests that it's not beneficial."
He further added, “This research was in younger relatively healthy people, but the results would make me very discouraged about trying to use this in older people who are most vulnerable to serious illness from the coronavirus. If it does work, it does not work very well."
Dr Boulware also is leading a study testing hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19. The study is finished and results are being analyzed now.
So far there has been so many studies and research trials showing that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is not only ineffective for treating COVID-19 but is harmful as it can increase the risk of heart conditions and heart failure.
Still many supporters of President Trump and unethical medical professionals are still trying to find ways manipulate researchers and influence non-credible medical journals into trying to find a way to show that the drug works at least to some degree for COVID-19.
For more on
Hydroxychloroquine, keep logging to Thailand Medical News
