NEJM: Fail again! Hydroxychloroquine does not prevent COVID-19!

June 5, 2020 /
PRNewswire
BIOON /- U.SPresident Donald Trump has been shown to be ineffective in his first large-scale, high-quality study of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent cocaine disease 2019 .COVID-19The study will be tested on health workers and others who are in close contact with the diseasestudy published June 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that hydroxychloroquine is no better at preventing coronavirus disease than placebo pillsThe drug does not appear to cause serious harm, although about 40% of the drugs have side effects, mainly mild stomach problems"We're disappointed, "DrDavid Boulware, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota who led the study, said"But our goal is to answer that question and conduct a high-quality study because the evidence for this drug has not yet been conclusive"
since Trump began promoting hydroxychloroquine and similar drugs, chloroquine, in March, they have been the subject of much debateHydroxychloroquine andrheumatoid arthritishave long been used, but no large-scale studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine are safe or effective for patients with severe coronavirus disease, and some studies have shown that these drugs can cause harm image: https://cn.bing.com
after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19, Trump received two weeks of hydroxychloroquine and zinc and vitamin D treatment On Wednesday, Mr Trump's doctors released the results of his latest medical check-up, which showed no adverse reactions federal regulators warn that unless used in hospitals and formal studies, there is a risk of side effects, especially heart rhythm problems Boulware's study of 821 people in the U.S and Canada who live with COVID-19 people who may be at high risk of infection because they are doctors, nurses and ambulance workers who have extensive contact with patients but are not wearing full protective gear they were randomly assigned to take a placebo or hydroxychloroquine for 5 days and started taking it within 4 days of exposure Neither they nor their doctors knew who was taking any medicine 14 days after the study, 12 percent of patients taking the drug had COVID-19 symptoms, while 14 percent of those taking a placebo had symptoms, but the difference was so small that it could have happened by accident, Boulware said "basically didn't work." It does not prevent infection "Even if it only provides a slight advantage, we want a bigger effect to justify its use and prevent the risk of side effects of the disease "
the results were no different among a group of participants who took zinc or vitamin C, and some believethat zinc or vitamin C may help improve the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine." "This is consistent with everything we've seen so far, and shows that it's not beneficial," said Dr Peter Bach, director of the Center for Health Policy at Memorial Sloan Cancer Center in New York, The study was conducted for relatively healthy young people, but the results will make me very discouraged by trying to use this method in older people most at risk of coronavirusinfection Even if it succeeds, it won't work very well Dr Dan Culver, a pulmonary specialist at the Cleveland Clinic in , said that four days after a patient's exposure to the virus, it could still help prevent the disease most of the money the study was provided by David Baszucki, founder of Roblox, a California-based game software , as well as other private donors and the University of Minnesota Boulware also led a study to test the effects of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 The study has been completed and the results are being analysed recently published an article by The Lancet expressing "concern" about a study published earlier this month The study looked at nearly 15,000 COVID-19 patients who took antimalarial drugs and found that they were at higher risk of dying in hospital or having heart problems scientists have raised serious questions about the database used in the study, and its authors have launched an independent audit this work has had a huge impact: the World Health Organization suspended the use of hydroxychloroquine in a study led by it, and French officials stopped the use of the drug in hospitals On Wednesday, WHO said experts who reviewed safety information had decided that the study could be revived (Bio ValleyBioon.com) References: Malaria Drug fails to prevent COVID-19 in ar study
David R Boulware et al.
Aed d'Itrandom Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19 New England Journal of Medicine 2020 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2016638