France halts use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients

The French government on May 27 banned the treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, a controversial anti-malaria drug, whose consumption the US President Donald Trump touted as preventive from the coronavirus. The decision comes as several studies conducted by two prominent French advisory bodies found the drug to be potentially dangerous, as per media reports.  

Earlier, despite the lack of research to demonstrate its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus disease, the anti-malaria was given through an IV in hospitals. However, reports of fatal episodes among some critical ICU patients revealed the major “cardiac risks” associated with the drug. As per the state media reports, The University Hospital Center of Nice (CHU de Nice) announced in a statement that it was testing four experimental treatments, one of which included hydroxychloroquine. The researchers established the drug’s effectiveness and side effects.  

Professor Émile Ferrari, the head of the cardiology department at the Pasteur hospital in Nice, was quoted saying in an interview with the leading French daily, that the electrocardiogram recordings of patients recorded anomalies from the drug. An ECG measures electrical activity in the heart, and represents this on a graph as a QT interval, he said. And, constant monitoring revealed a potential cardiac side effect of hydroxychloroquine, he added. 

Read: COVID-19: Trump Says His Hydroxychloroquine Regimen Finishes In 'day Or Two'

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France’s decision comes after the publication last week of a study in a report which indicated that using the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their chances of dying, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference. He said at the conference that the executive group of the so-called Solidarity Trial had hundreds of hospitals enrolled patients to test several possible treatments for the novel coronavirus, including for HCQ.  

However, the Executive Group had to implement a pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial after the safety data were reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board, and there were potential threats. Further, the studies found that drug usage can particularly cause heart arrhythmia, as per the reports.  

"Game-changer" drug causes heart toxicities

Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was quoted saying that the "game-changer" didn't help hospitalized patients with coronavirus. He added, even worse, there were side effects caused such as the heart toxicities that required the drug to be discontinued. 

Read: Trump's 'game-changer' Drug Linked To Increased Risk Of Death In COVID-19 Patients: Study

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(Image Credit: PTI)