Can a derivative of chloroquine used to treat malaria control Covid 19? French researchers launched a large-scale study on Tuesday, "solving the issue", while a Chinese team cautiously concluded that this treatment was "promising."
The controversy over the use of hydroxychloroquine has been simmering for several weeks, with the intervention of even US President Donald Trump, who sees it as a "godsend" and a large contribution from the French scientist Didier Rawlett who published two studies that support the "effectiveness" of this treatment, but many Specialists criticize the approved methodology.
And for the sake of "deciding the case", a team from the Ange University Hospital Center announced the start of a study that adopts "the highest scientific and methodological standards", and includes 1,300 patients with "Covid 19" and conducted "in circumstances that leave no room for doubt in the analysis of the results", according to Professor Vincent Dobby who is behind the project.
The study was called "Ecofeed" that started today, and it depends on "double-blind", meaning that neither the doctors nor the patients know if the patient is receiving chloroquine or a placebo (half of the patients in each group).
The study includes patients over the age of 75, or who need oxygen to breathe without having "severe respiratory distress."
Dubey stressed that «one of the strengths in the study included patients with non-risk for the disease, but they face a high risk of complications such as the elderly, for example. So we will treat people at an early stage and it is likely a critical factor in the success of the treatment. ” The first results will be issued in "within a few weeks", he confirmed.
Yesterday, a Chinese team published a study conducted in a hospital in Johan, from where the global epidemic began, in which it cautiously concluded that hydroxychloroquine was "promising" as a treatment for "Covid 19".
However, this study was not subject to review by a specialized reading committee in a scientific journal, which led a number of experts to downplay the importance of its results.
Doctors at the People's Hospital in Wuhan studied 62 patients, 31 of whom received hydroxychloroquine at a rate of 400 mg per day, and another group of 31 patients who had not received any drug.
The two groups were formed randomly by a computer. The average age of the group members was 44.7 years. The patients had symptoms of pneumonia that did not have serious complications, and they received "regular treatment", that is, oxygen, antivirals, and antibiotics, without any further clarification. Sectional images of the lungs were performed before the start of the study and after five full days of treatment.
After this period, it was found that the patients in the group that received hydroxychloroquine were significantly better at pneumonia with an improvement of 80.6% among them, compared to 54.8% for the corresponding group. Symptoms of fever and cough fell more quickly in the first group as well.
The study authors cautiously concluded partially that hydroxychloroquine was "promising" in the treatment of "Covid 19" and "in the absence of any other current option, it is promising to use hydroxychloroquine under supervision."
Professor Didier Rawlett, in a tweet, welcomed the results. He said: «Despite the small number of cases studied, the difference is large and this shows the effectiveness of this protocol. However, others have also asked questions here about the methodology used without "totally rejecting" the results.
The Swiss specialist website Heidi.News pointed to "promising" results, but considered that the study was "probably conducted in haste" with the possibility that the patients "received other treatments, especially antivirals that may affect the results, in addition to the short follow-up period."