Hydroxychloroquine May Increase the Risk of Death

Sep, 2020 - By SMI

World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended the discontinuation of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine testing for COVID-19 treatment.   

From the past two decades, the coronaviruses are spreading across the globe, attacking the respiratory system. They cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to deadly. The recent one is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading across the globe. A new study by the research team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital has assessed real-life evidence for COVID-19 patients who received hydroxychloroquine. According to new research, there is no strong evidence that either hydroxychloroquine reduced the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients. The research was published in the Lancet journal.

Individuals who received chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine were more expected to experience rapid heart rhythms compared to those who had not received hydroxychloroquine. A high risk of death from novel coronaviruses was found in thousands of COVID-19 patients treated with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. During this research, the researchers examined around 100,000 individuals and found that hydroxychloroquine treatment increases the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended the discontinuation of hydroxychloroquine testing for COVID-19 treatment. The researchers also examined data from around 671 hospitals across 6 continents.

The research included data from around 96,000 COVID-19 patients. Around 14,888 individuals received chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine treatment early after COVID-19 diagnosis. The main aim was to determine the study’s endpoint was discharge or death from the hospital. The team found that around 10,698 individuals (11.1%) died in the hospital and around 85,334 survived. After analyzing confounding variables such as underlying risk factors, gender, and age, the researchers then compared the mortality rate of people taking the drug to a control group. The mortality rate among the control group was 9.3%. Each drug of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone, or in combination with macrolide was linked to an increased risk of death with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic).