Study: Hydroxychloroquine ineffective in treating coronavirus
Mortality rate was higher in patients who took the drug
A new study has found that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been touted as a possible cure for coronavirus, is not only ineffective in treating the disease, but may also be associated with higher mortality rates.
In early April, US President Donald Trump said the drug could make a "dramatic difference" for those infected with the coronavirus.
This week, however, the Veterans Affairs Department and a team of scientists presented a study based on a review of data from 381 male patients that found patients who received hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin bore the disease more severely than those who were not given the drugs. Of the study participants, 97 took hydroxychloroquine, another 113 took both hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, and 153 took neither.
According to the study, 27 percent of patients who took hydroxychloroquine died, as did 22 percent of those who took both drugs, while those who were not given either drug had a mortality rate of 11.4 percent.
However, the results are based only on observations of patient treatment, not on a clinical trial with a random sample of patients and the use of a placebo, which is considered the scientific standard for determining drug efficacy. In addition, the study has not been evaluated by other scientists and has not been published in peer-reviewed journals.
The study involved experts from the University of Virginia, the University of South Carolina and the Veterans Administration in Columbia, South Carolina.
There is currently no cure or vaccine for the coronavirus, which has killed 178,000 people worldwide, including 45,000 in the United States. About 40 trials are underway around the world to develop a vaccine, but it could take a year or more.
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