WHO leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced today that the WHO will stop its investigations of the use of hydroxychloroquine for covid-19, NPR reported. The trials may resume, he said, pending a review of available data. The decision comes on the heels of a Lancet report featuring evidence that hydroxychloroquine may be associated with increased covid-19 mortality rates. NPR reported that WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan advised that though the study was not a randomized controlled trial, it did feature a sizeable sample of 96,000 patients.
FDA issued a warning in April regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for covid-19, advising that the drugs should be used only in clinical investigations or in hospitals. A Drug Safety Communication statement on its website advises patients and clinicians that “hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can cause abnormal heart rhythms such as QT interval prolongation and a dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia. These risks may increase when these medicines are combined with other medicines known to prolong the QT interval, including the antibiotic azithromycin, which is also being used in some COVID-19 patients without FDA approval for this condition. Patients who also have other health issues such as heart and kidney disease are likely to be at increased risk of these heart problems when receiving these medicines.”
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/25/861913688/who-halts-hydroxychloroquine-trial-over-safety-concerns
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31180-6/fulltext
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-cautions-against-use-hydroxychloroquine-or-chloroquine-covid-19-outside-hospital-setting-or