WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment has been contradicted by multiple medical studies, including a recent report linking the drug to nearly 17,000 deaths.
Despite scientific objections, hydroxychloroquine was prescribed off-label to hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic. This was done despite the lack of evidence proving its efficacy or safety for the treatment of the virus. French infectious disease specialist Didier Raoult claimed in a controversial study that the drug had a 100% cure rate against COVID-19, leading to Trump’s endorsement of it as a “game changer.”
However, a recent study has found a correlation between Trump’s public advocacy of the drug and the increase in online searches and purchases of it. The study also revealed that hydroxychloroquine was associated with an 11% increase in COVID-19 patients’ mortality rate and an estimated 16,990 deaths across six countries.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially approved the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in March 2020, but later revoked authorization due to adverse cardiac events. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also ended its clinical trials into hydroxychloroquine after finding it was highly unlikely to benefit hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
The study published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy highlighted that the toxicity of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients is partially due to its cardiac side effects. The researchers stressed the importance of limiting off-label use of treatments until accurate data and evidence is produced.
In conclusion, the study emphasizes the hazards of drug repurposing with low-level evidence for the management of future pandemics. It underscores the importance of limiting off-label use of treatments until accurate data and evidence is available. The findings call for a reevaluation of the promotion and prescription of drugs before sufficient evidence of their safety and efficacy is established.