Contents
Recent scientific reports suggest that treatments with hydoxychloroquine and chloroquine – potential drugs for COVID-19 – cause a number of side effects in patients. WHO has suspended clinical trials for these drugs. The case was also referred to by the Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Doctors of Infectious Diseases (PTEiLChZ), which issued recommendations for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in Poland.
New recommendations for treating patients with COVID-19
The Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Doctors of Infectious Diseases has developed recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Poland. These recommendations were prepared on March 31, 2020. An appendix to these recommendations appeared on June 1, which was created “due to the emerging new data from the literature and accumulated experience”.
The changes in the recommendations concern the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which were recommended for basic treatment in patients with stable COVID-19, with respiratory failure and in critical condition. As it is known in Poland, chloroquine has been registered for the adjunctive treatment of COVID-19, but “in the recommendations of the PTEiLChZ of March 31, 03, chloroquine and hydrochloroquine were used in basic treatment, which resulted from the lack of alternative registered forms of treatment and the expected evidence of efficacy”.
As we read in the annex prepared by PTEiLChZ, due to the lack of evidence of the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and the emerging doubts about the safety profile of these drugs, they were assigned a status that results from the characteristics of the medicinal product. This means that they are no longer recommended as basic treatment, but only as supportive treatment and only in the case of stable COVID-19.
Detailed treatment guidelines can be found on the website of PTEiLChZ.
Controversy over chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine
Chloroquine is a known antimalarial drug and is also used to treat rheumatic diseases. Chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, have been tested in the treatment of COVID-19 for some time. In Poland, chloroquine has been approved for supportive treatment, but in the recommendations of PTEiLChZ it was recommended in basic treatment.
Along with the new research, many doubts have arisen regarding the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19. For safety reasons, WHO has even temporarily suspended research on these drugs. The decision was a consequence of research published in The Lancet, which describes the conclusions of the observation of patients treated with these drugs. The authors of the study noted higher mortality among people treated with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, regardless of whether the treatment was combined or not.
Earlier, WHO reported that it was too early to talk about the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. WHO experts called for common sense, especially after the words of Donald Trump, who announced that he was taking hydroxychloroquine daily for preventive purposes. The drug used without medical consultation and supervision may cause a number of side effects.
Recommendations for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 are constantly being supplemented and modified. So far, the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and EMA (European Medicines Agency) have approved remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment.
See what we’ve written so far about potential COVID-19 cures:
- Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. What about the side effects of drugs tested to treat COVID-19?
- Antimalarial drug to treat COVID-19? French scientists are looking for answers
- WHO begins global drug research against COVID-19
- Brazilians boast that they have found a cure for COVID-19. Are there reasons for euphoria?
- Scientists are still looking for an effective COVID-19 treatment. We review promising therapies