The covid hydroxychloroquine test

In mid-May, a group of researchers from the University of Oxford began clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine to see its potential as a COVID-19 drug. Less than a week later, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that this clinical trial was being suspended for safety reasons.

Hydroxychloroquine is the newest COVID-19 drug candidate after chloroquine, remdesivir, and several other drug combinations. This drug has a function similar to chloroquine so that it is a potential drug candidate. So, what made him fail?

How are the clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 conducted?

Hydroxychloroquine is a drug to prevent and treat acute symptoms of malaria. However, this drug has recently been used to treat chronic inflammation in rheumatic diseases, lupus, and similar autoimmune diseases.

It is not clear why hydroxychloroquine is effective against inflammation. Many experts suspect that this drug works by affecting the communication pathways of the immune system cells. It is this line of communication that may trigger an inflammatory reaction in the body.

Inflammation is also a major problem with COVID-19. Once the lungs are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the immune system responds with an inflammatory reaction. However, this process also causes organ damage which is fatal.

Given its efficacy in dealing with inflammation, hydroxychloroquine might be a solution to inflammation due to coronavirus. The researchers also proposed a clinical trial by giving hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to COVID-19 patients.

Researchers randomly administered oral drugs to COVID-19 patients. They were asked to drink 400 milligrams of hydroxychloroquine twice on the first day. Then, the dose is reduced to 200 milligrams twice a day for the next six days.

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Apart from hydroxychloroquine, patients also take 500 milligrams of azithromycin on a day. The dose is then reduced to 250 milligrams over the next four days. Meanwhile, patients from the control group were given placebo pills (not drugs).

During the 20 days of the study period, patients would record their symptoms, treatment received, and any situation related to their illness. The research staff monitored the patient's condition by telephone or visits to the hospital whenever possible.

These entire clinical trials are aimed at assessing whether hydroxychloroquine and antibiotics can reduce the likelihood that COVID-19 patients will be hospitalized. In addition, researchers will also test the safety and risks in COVID-19 patients.

The hydroxychloroquine clinical trial was temporarily suspended

Unfortunately, the clinical trial titled COPCOV was temporarily suspended on Wednesday (27/5). A recent report in the journal The Lancet mentioned that hydroxychloroquine did not provide the expected benefits in COVID-19 patients.

The report also revealed that administering hydroxychloroquine might actually increase the risk of death for patients in clinical trials. Patients who take the drug are also more at risk of experiencing heart rate disorders than those who do not.

Clinical trial patients were divided into three groups, namely patients who took hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and who did not take any drugs. Of the 43.4% patients who died, about 18% were taking hydroxychloroquine.

Another 16.4% of the patients who died were from the group taking chloroquine, while the remaining 9% were patients who were not given any medication. The mortality rate for patients taking the combination hydroxychloroquine is even higher.

This clinical trial does not merely prove that hydroxychloroquine causes death in COVID-19 patients. In fact, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin are actually safe drugs for most people.

Even so, both are known to cause a number of side effects. Mild side effects include headaches and nausea. There have also been reports of serious side effects in the form of heart rate problems, but this condition is somewhat rare.

WHO also decided to temporarily suspend clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine until there is new evidence regarding its safety. The researchers also do not recommend the use of this drug outside of clinical trials because it is not guaranteed safe for patients.

Researchers around the world have been researching a variety of drugs that have the potential to treat and prevent COVID-19. However, the process of developing a COVID-19 drug is the same as developing a vaccine which consists of many stages.

Not infrequently, researchers have to face many failures before finding a drug that actually works. While waiting for the latest news, you can join the fight against COVID-19 by washing your hands with soap, using a mask, and applying physical distancing .