The medical journal The Lancet has withdrawn the publication suggesting that COVID-19 treatment with chloroquine and hydrochloroquine has been of no effect. As a result, WHO resumed the research on these drugs suspended 10 days earlier. The case, however, raises a lot of emotions.
– It appears that the withdrawn publication was based on incoherent data. Unfortunately, as a result of this, WHO’s actions resembled a chocholi dance that serves neither patients nor those who decide to treat, comments Dr. Jarosław Woroń, specialist in clinical pharmacology at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow.
Publication scandal
The publishers of the Lancet magazine issued a statement informing that the three main authors of the work published on May 22 this year. withdrew her. Researchers analyzed the treatment history of 100. patients from all over the world, of which about 15 thousand. chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine was administered in combination with a macrolide antibiotic or as a single drug. On the basis of the data provided to them, they concluded that therapy with these antimalarial drugs is not only of no benefit, but may cause, inter alia, heart arrhythmia and even death.
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The data for the study was provided by Surgisphere, which refused to provide independent peer review experts with a complete set of information necessary for the review. As a result, three authors of the work demanded its withdrawal, explaining that they could not guarantee the truthfulness of the original data source.. “We sincerely apologize to you, the editors and readers of the magazine, for the shame and inconvenience it may have caused »- they wrote.
Meanwhile, on May 27 this year. published a French study showing the effectiveness of using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. It was carried out in Marseille, where 3737 patients were monitored, including 3054 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine and azithromycin, and 683 with other methods.
Treatment with these antimalarial drugs and macrolyte was found to be associated with a reduced risk of transmission to the ICU or death, as well as reduced hospitalization time. QTc prolongation was found only in 0,67% of patients. However, no sudden death or torsade de pointe ventricular tachycardia have been reported.
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Three conflicting WHO decisions
March 18 this year. WHO announced the launch of a global study to test the effectiveness of four drugs in the fight against COVID -19. Among them were chloroquine and hydrochloroquine. After the publication of “The Lancet” on May 15 this year. WHO said it has temporarily suspended research on these drugs for safety reasons. As a result, patients lost treatment options in many countries.
- WHO: There is no evidence that chloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19 patients
After 10 days, WHO resumed the research on chloroquine and hydrochloroquine. – We are sure that these drugs do not cause increased mortality in people who took them – he informed during a press conference on June 3 this year. Soumya Swaminathan, one of the main WHO experts.
– Still many people think that there are very effective and completely safe drugs. Meanwhile, they all have side effects. However, it is about the benefit / risk ratio. Pharmacotherapy is a slalom in which there is more to be desired than undesirable. In the case of chloroquine, which has been on the market for a long time, we know that in combination with certain drugs it can cause heart rhythm disturbances. But when treating patients with COVID -19, we constantly monitor patients and are able to react to possible side effects of the therapy – says Dr. Woroń. In his opinion, it is good that the Drug Registration Office in Poland decided to extend the indications of the drug Arechin (Chloroquini phosphas) with supportive treatment in coronavirus infections.
According to many specialists, the confusion over the Lancet publication has done a lot of damage as it has stopped the research that the world is waiting for. Moreover, during the wave of fake news accompanying the epidemic, such information chaos undermines trust in reliable sources of information. In addition to Donald Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced his withdrawal from WHO. Over 19 people died in Brazil due to COVID-35. people. The local Ministry of Health has renewed its official recommendation for the widespread use of hydroxychloroquine.
Find out more:
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