Live data from Hacker News

Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

medrxiv.org

51–60 of 123 posts

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#51
post #26

It's worth noting that this study does not include azithromycin in the treatment regime, as was the case in the Raoult/French study. The French study, problematic in the extreme but still promising, claims a large synergistic effect of using both drugs in combination. Also, unlike the French study, this one appears to be at least controlled, but possibly not blinded.

I think this counts a double blind trial. From the top of page 4 in the article: "Randomization was performed through a computer-generated list stratified by site. Treatments were assigned after confirming the correctness of the admission criteria. Neither the research performers nor the patients were aware of the treatment assignments."

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The President literally called it a "Democrat hoax" How is it not the administration's doing then?

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-re...

Snopes gave the claim a mixed rating because close reading of Trump's comments suggested to the article author that Trump was calling Democratic accusations of inadequate response by his administration the hoax, not the virus itself. The article is dated March 2.

But now it seems clear that the accusations were absolutely accurate, and the distinctions the author tries to draw are irrelevant.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#53
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Face it, HCQ is an old and cheap drug that doesn't fit Big Pharma profit visions. Its much more enticing for Big Pharma to sell new patented solutions, so they will pay their PR mouthpieces (MSM) to "be cautious" of anything that doesn't achieve that end goal.

> Face it, HCQ is an old and cheap drug that doesn't fit Big Pharma profit visions. That seems like a non sequitur... Do you think HCQ knows that, and is therefore making itself less effective, just to stick it to Trump? The reality is, HCQ is not without adverse side-effects, and we have reason to be cautious. There have been several examples in the past where early results of HCQ testing looked promising against va…

We can check efficacy claim of HCQ by doing Randomised trail in US under FDA supervision instead of just relying on Chinese studies, But main benefit of HCQ if it found to be effective would be that it is already a widely used approved drug. We know it's side effects, Getting a new drug approved and check for its side effects itself is very time consuming and expensive exercise. Here only randomised large scale trail is needed. What is preventive USA Pharma companies and FDA to do randomised trails here ?

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#54
post #12

Seems relevant: https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1245669685267439616 Not sure they've been doing proper studies and such because they're so slammed, but it seems they've been trying it in Italy and... maybe it helps some, but doesn't seem like it works miracles.

Some of the papers being shared on r/COVID19 seem to be indicating that perhaps it has little effect once the disease has gotten severe, but if taken early, may reduce potential severity and time to recovery. Still early, but it seems like, if the results end up being true, it could be helpful in stemming the tide of the disease.

I've heard this too. Here's an explanation that sounds plausible:

https://twitter.com/yishan/status/1244717172871409666

https://twitter.com/yishan/status/1245066858597761024

If true, this argues for giving HCQ immediately upon admission.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#55
post #11

I wish the current U.S. administration hadn't tried to turn this into a partisan issue.

I think Trump was just casting about for anything he might hitch his wagon to and claim credit for later. It's unfortunate that "the other side" heaped so much scorn on chloroquine just because Trump was touting it, because there was never any conclusive evidence that it doesn't work, and if it actually does work then they played right into Trump's usual "hoax" angle.

Agreed. But by trying to hitch their wagon to one particular treatment, and trying take ownership of that issue, they are making it about them and about politics rather than about the efficacy of the treatment.

In this kind of crisis, the last thing we need is to be injecting politics into the decision about which treatments are most effective.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#56
post #24

I live in an island where during a viral outbreak some were advocating for chloroquine against the Chikungunya virus. The initial in-vitro tests were promising but it turns out during human trials it has a reverse effect and delayed adaptive immune responses (1). It's sad to see scientific method destroyed by politics and social networks. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5977261/

It modulates immune response.So needs to be give in the condition of a cytokine storm by the immune system which is the cause of complications and death

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#57
post #11

I wish the current U.S. administration hadn't tried to turn this into a partisan issue.

It absolutely did not. The press did. The mainstream US media has become a one-sided partisan cheerleading squad for the Democrats, and most Americans are sick of it. We'll see how that works out in November.

No, most Americans are sick of Trump and his mindless anti science supporters and their endless lies.

Yeah. We are going to see in November. You aren’t going to like the outcome for your racist draft dodging business failure tax cheating rapist impeached serial liar with early dementia but restoring adults to leadership will suit the rest of us well.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#58
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's valid criticism, but it has nothing to do with partisanship.

The President shouldn't be recommending unproven drugs, he should be communicating what we know and what to do now.

That's still not a partisan issue.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did they turn it into a partisan issue? Trump announced in a press conference that hydroxychoroquine held promise as a potential therapy based on anecdotal evidence being shared by physicians in Asia and Europe. Everyone, Democrats, the media, and individuals jumped on him as promoting snake oil and having no basis for his claims. It was barely news when he announced it. Some of the same evidence he was referenci…

He heard something about these two drugs, and without any scientific evidence he announced it, causing a panic-grab for the drugs. Unfortunately even the CDC was saying we don't have evidence supporting it.

>> He heard something about these two drugs, and without any scientific evidence he announced it, causing a panic-grab for the drugs. Unfortunately even the CDC was saying we don't have evidence supporting it.

He simply reported that it looked promising in early studies, like we had already seen reported here on HN. His other action was apparently to lean the FDA to find out ASAP rather than heming and hawing for years following standard beaurocratic protocols. I think it was fine to do both those things. Responsible even.

Re: Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with Covid-19: a randomized trial

#60
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not at all a fair assessment of what happened. I won't blame specific groups (there is plenty of fault to go around), but it wasn't the administration that made things partisan there.

The President literally called it a "Democrat hoax" How is it not the administration's doing then?

We are talking about HCQ, please dont bring up other issues.
Post reply on HN