Coronavirus: Donald Trump’s drug of choice killing the sick
French authorities have seen a jump in reports of serious side effects from hydroxychloroquine used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Monitoring authorities in France have seen a jump in reports of serious side-effects from hydroxychloroquine used to treat patients with COVID-19.
Scientists are working to determine whether the drug, primarily used to treat malaria and some auto-immune diseases, is effective in people infected with the novel coronavirus.
US President Donald Trump has touted the medicine as a potential treatment. In France, its use has become more widespread thanks in part to the public advocacy of an outspoken infectious disease specialist, Didier Raoult.
Since March 27, the French Regional Centre of Pharmacovigilance in Nice, which is in charge of tracking hydroxychloroquine cases across the country, has received notifications about 54 COVID-19 patients who developed serious heart problems while taking the drug, according to the head of the centre, Milou-Daniel Drici.
Seven of those patients suffered cardiac arrest and four died, Dr Drici said. In most cases, the heart issues were clearly linked to the use of hydroxychloroquine, which is well known to cause specific heart malfunctions, he said.
In cases where the drug has clear benefits for patients, it can be worth such risks, said Dr Drici, a physician and pharmacologist. But, he said, “For the coronavirus, we have a drug that’s coming with no proven benefit and a clear cardiac risk”, He called for the drug to be administered only to hospitalised patients, who would require close monitoring.
Scientists in France and elsewhere are conducting studies to try to determine the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. French health authorities have said it may take a few more weeks before results from a clinical trial in their country are available.
In late March, French health authorities authorised hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 as long as patients were in the hospital, but some doctors have continued to prescribe it for outpatients.
Data on how many people have taken hydroxychloroquine in connection with the coronavirus in France aren’t yet available. But the 54 incidents suggest it has been used widely in recent weeks. In an average year, Dr Drici said, authorities might receive three reports of heart complications in patients taking hydroxychloroquine.
Doctors in Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, said last week they had seen no clear evidence the drug worked.
The Wall Street Journal
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