Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine can be used as treatment for the coronavirus.

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GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Will the results of the University Hospital of Angers end the passionate debate on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine?

According to a study carried out on a sample of 250 patients, treatment with hydroxychloroquine has no beneficial effect compared to the usual treatment used to treat patients with Covid-19, we learned on Thursday. with the coordinator of the study conducted at the Angevin hospital.

"In this trial mainly involving elderly patients with mild to moderate Covid-19, those treated with hydroxychloroquine did not show a better clinical or virological outcome than those who received a placebo," explained the Professor Vincent Dubée, coordinator of this study called Hycovid.

A trial on 250 patients at risk

With a median age of 77 years, the 250 patients included in this trial, selected because they presented a significant risk of aggravation, were divided into two groups.

The first received 800 mg of hydroxychloroquine on the first day, then 400 mg per day for eight days.

The second group received a placebo.

"Of course, the patients continued to benefit simultaneously from the treatments administered to them", underline the authors of the study.

“The effectiveness of the treatment was judged by comparing the number of patients who died or transferred to intensive care due to worsening of the respiratory system” in each of the two groups during the 14 days following the start of treatment, said Professor Dubée.

"The difference is not statistically significant"

In these first 14 days after the start of treatment, nine patients to whom the chloroquine derivative had been administered died or were intubated, while eight were in the group on placebo, said the doctor, specializing in diseases. infectious and tropical.

Twenty-eight days after inclusion in one of the two groups, nine patients treated with hydroxychloroquine had died or were intubated, compared to twelve patients who received placebo.

"The difference between the two groups is very small and is not statistically significant, which means that it can be due to chance", estimated the practitioner.

The use of hydroxychloroquine, popularized in France by Professor Didier Raoult, has largely gone beyond the scientific domain to become the subject of a political debate throughout the world which divides public opinion, giving rise to violent clashes. on social networks.

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  • Coronavirus

  • Covid 19

  • Health

  • Angers

  • Drug

  • Didier Raoult