"Cases of cardiac toxicity have been reported (...) following self-medication (...) of hydroxychloroquine in the face of symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, sometimes requiring hospitalization in intensive care," says the Regional health agency in a press release. For several days, the debate has been heated over whether hydroxychloroquine, presented by some as a miracle remedy, should be used as a treatment for Covid-19 or not.
>> LIVE - Follow the evolution of the situation on Monday, March 30
Taking this medication should be "monitored"
"Faced with this observation, the ARS Nouvelle-Aquitaine warns of the dangers of hydroxychloroquine which must in no case be taken in self-medication", according to the press release. The taking of this drug must be subject to "monitoring" and a "suitable medical prescription" to avoid the occurrence of serious adverse events, but also hospitalizations in intensive care which are currently precious ", continues l 'ARS.
Derived from the antimalarial chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine known in France as Plaquénil, is used against lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Currently tested in several countries in the fight against the virus, these substances can cause many side effects including heart and neurological disorders. And an overdose can be dangerous, even fatal.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Paid leave, RTT, sick leave: what changes the state of health emergency
> What do we know about chloroquine, the treatment that is debating?
> What to do if you are sick, but not coronavirus?
> Why you will have to be patient to be reimbursed for a canceled trip
> Homemade bread, short circuits ... Our solutions to continue to eat well during confinement
> Sex: how to manage abstinence during confinement?
Two studies that are not unanimous
In France, trials on hydroxychloroquine are being carried out by the controversial Professor Didier Raoult, who has drawn criticism after having published two studies confirming, according to him, the "effectiveness" of this treatment against the coronavirus.
In a second study on 80 patients, published online Friday, the director of the renowned Institut hospitalo-universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection de Marseille, says that 80% of them have experienced a "favorable development". However, many scientists point to the limits of these studies, because they were not conducted according to standard scientific protocols.
Available under certain conditions in France
However, a decree regulates the availability of hydroxychloroquine to avoid the risks of rupture while this drug is currently the subject of a craze on French territory. Pending the results of "Discovery", an ongoing European trial on four treatments, including hydroxychloroquine, France has authorized the administration of this molecule against Covid-19 in hospitals only and only in severe cases.