Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
blogs.sciencemag.org
Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
1–10 of 99 posts
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#2The possible high-mortality interaction with metformin is a terrifying prospect. Diabetes is so common... hopefully it's something that doesn't apply to humans.
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#3Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon...
You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment.
According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giving it to patients, too (https://www.news9.com/story/41972631/state-secures-possible-...), as does LA (https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/1246998628331163649). Italy saw its numbers of deaths stabilize once they started giving it. Marseille (where Raoult's hospital is) has the lowest fatality rate in all of France. If it works, we should see the recoveries shoot up in 5-7 days.
HCQ is also available _over the counter_ in some countries, and is given out like candy all over Africa where there's risk of malaria.
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#4Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon... You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment. According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giv…
The fact that you can buy the drug over the counter doesn't mean it's universally safe. The people being hospitalized here are already doing poorly so exposing them to additional risk is not something you should just do on a whim. As the linked post mentions, there are clear signs of potential risks associated with the use of HCQ. I hope for the patients being dosed with it now that it both works and is safe, but it's incredibly reckless to go 'it's over the counter so it's fine'. A healthy person taking a reasonable dose as a malaria countermeasure is not the same as a person on a ventilator in the ICU. Their immune system is in a different condition, so is their heart.
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#5Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon... You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment. According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giv…
Substantial numbers of C19 patients are being given HCQ in C19 trials, but more than that, substantial numbers of newly-diagnosed C19 patients are already taking HCQ, since it's part of the standard of care for widespread conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. And those patients will of course have had the HCQ intervention before acquiring C19, not late in the course of their illness. It doesn't look like anyone is reporting unusual clinical success for those patients, while you can find clinical reports of QT disturbances (so: people are paying attention to this stuff).
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#6While other drugs are looking far more promising, there might be an obvious reason why despite lack of clear proof/results the president is pushing it so hard like everything else that motivates him: https://lawandcrime.com/covid-19-pandemic/major-producer-of-...
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#7Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon... You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment. According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giv…
“You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now.”
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#8Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon... You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment. According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giv…
Substantial numbers of C19 patients are being given HCQ in C19 trials, but more than that, substantial numbers of newly-diagnosed C19 patients are already taking HCQ , since it's part of the standard of care for widespread conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. And those patients will of course have had the HCQ intervention before acquiring C19, not late in the course of their illness. It doesn't look like anyone is r…
Dosages for arthritis are pretty low, though.
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#9Counterpoint: http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/chloroquine-ne-perdon... You can do double blind studies until your patients are literally blue in the face, or you can try what works now. That is literally the choice at the moment. According to Peter Navarro, a good percentage of NYC patients are getting HCQ at the onset of symptoms now. Cuomo wants more of it, because it "appears to be working". Oklahoma is giv…
The fact that you can buy the drug over the counter doesn't mean it's universally safe. The people being hospitalized here are already doing poorly so exposing them to additional risk is not something you should just do on a whim. As the linked post mentions, there are clear signs of potential risks associated with the use of HCQ. I hope for the patients being dosed with it now that it both works and is safe, but it'…
> doesn't mean it's universally safe
_Table salt_ is not safe. Eat 100 grams of it and you will die. This does, however, mean that it's not as "dangerous" as the mainstream press wants you to believe. It's a 50 year old drug used all over the world. If it was "deadly", we'd know it by now.
CDC itself recommends taking it _as a prophylaxis_ when heading to the areas where malaria might be present: https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html
Re: Hydroxychloroquine Update for April 6
#10I'm a fan of this review, and of Derek Lowe in general. I especially like the way he explains effect size and also the reasons why we have to be cautious when looking at promising drugs.
Another take, by James Hamblin at the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/hydroxych...
This is written for a more general audience, and is not shy about taking on the more political aspects, including the clashing agendas of the people promoting HCQ and those urging a more skeptical approach.