Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) Study Shows Increased Mortality in COVID-19 Patients, Similar to ICMR’s Expanded Use in India

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an antimalarial drug that is being tested worldwide as a prophylactic treatment to prevent COVID-19 infections. According to the guidelines set by the Indian Medical Research Commission (ICMR) on the preventive use of hydroxychloroquine on March 23, 2020, this drug was tested in the laboratory and showed promising results in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 infection. Was shown. Since then, many doctors and healthcare professionals in India have been given hydroxychloroquine to prevent infections. In addition, India also exports medicines to many other countries, including the United States.

Expressive image. Getty images

However, recently published research Lancet It has been shown that giving hydroxychloroquine to people infected with the COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of death. This study was conducted on a large scale and demonstrated the adverse effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on COVID-19 infected individuals.

Continued use of hydroxychloroquine: ICMR revised guidelines for hydroxychloroquine

ICMR established revised guidelines for hydroxychloroquine on May 22, 2020. It said the drug would also be given to all health workers working during this pandemic and front-line workers (including police officers) deployed in the containment zone. This decision was based on three studies. A retrospective case-control analysis by ICMR, another analysis by three government hospitals, and a third study on AIIMS healthcare workers.

Contradictory lancet research

Research published in Lancet It was based on testing the effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on COVID-19 patients. The study was conducted by Dr. Mandeep Meha, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues at other institutions. This was done in 96,032 patients who were infected with COVID-19 and were hospitalized between December 20, 2019 and April 14, 2020. Of these people, 14,888 were given the drug and the rest received placebo.

Treatment groups were divided into four categories, depending on the people treated: chloroquine only, chloroquine with antibiotics, hydroxychloroquine only, and hydroxychloroquine with antibiotics.

Research conclusions

During the study period, 10,698 deaths were reported. The mortality rate for people who took placebo is reported to be 9.3%. But it has been found to increase in people who take the drug. In this study, the mortality rate of those taking hydroxychloroquine was 18%, those taking hydroxychloroquine taking antibiotics were 23.8%, those taking chloroquine were 16.4%, and those taking antibiotics were 22.2%. was.

The study also found that the group taking the drug showed an increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). Compared to the placebo-treated group, the risk of arrhythmia was increased by 6.1% for hydroxychloroquine, 8.1% for hydroxychloroquine with antibiotics, 4.3% for chloroquine, and 6.5% for antibiotics.

In conclusion, this study should not currently use HCQ against COVID-19 except in clinical trials.

For more information, see the following article. Is hydroxychloroquine really effective against COVID-19?..

The Firstpost Health Article is produced by myUpchar.com, India’s first and largest resource for validated healthcare information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to provide all health information.

Update: May 23, 2020 18:31:39 IST

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