New Studies Cast Doubt on Hydroxychloroquine’s Effectiveness Against COVID-19

Hydroxychloroquine would not be effective against covid-19. The results of two new studies on the molecule allow this statement. The hydroxychloroquine treatment encouraged by French professor Didier Raoult seems ineffective in severely or more mildly affected patients, reports Le Parisien.

For the first study conducted by French researchers, hydroxychloroquine does not significantly reduce the risk of admission to intensive care or death in hospitalized patients with pneumonia due to covid-19. The second study, carried out by a Chinese team, concludes that hydroxychloroquine does not allow the virus to be eliminated more quickly than standard treatments in hospitalized patients with a "mild" or "moderate" form of covid-19. The British medical journal BMJ, which published the two studies, indicates that the results do not recommend the use of hydroxychloroquine as a routine treatment for patients with coronavirus. In addition, side effects are more important.

The first study, which involved 181 adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia due to covid-19, requiring oxygen administration, shows a survival rate of 91% without treatment and 89% with it. 84 of these patients received hydroxychloroquine daily less than two days after their hospitalization, unlike the other 97. The fact of receiving or not receiving this treatment made no difference, whether for transfers to intensive care or for mortality, the researchers observe.

The second study reached the same conclusion as the first. It involved 150 adults hospitalized in China with "mild" or "moderate" forms of covid-19. Half received hydroxychloroquine, the other half did not. At this level too, the fact of receiving or not receiving this treatment made no difference in the elimination of the virus by patients after four weeks. Hydroxychloroquine has many supporters. But several studies raise doubts about its effectiveness. In addition, the health authorities of several countries warn of side effects.