CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC UPDATE: STUDY FOUND HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE NO BETTER THAN STANDARD CORONAVIRUS CARE

-
Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug dubbed a "gift from God" by Donald Trump for its potential ability to fight the new coronavirus, was found to be no more effective than standard treatment in a small Chinese study.

The report published by the Journal of Zhejiang University in China on March 6, showed that patients who got the medicine didn’t fight off the new coronavirus more often than those who did not get the medicine.

The study involved just 30 patients. Of the 15 patients given the hydroxychloroquine, 13 tested negative for the coronavirus after a week of treatment. Of the 15 patients who didn’t get hydroxychloroquine, 14 tested negative for the virus.

The results of the study weren’t statistically significant.

Name of Study: A pilot study of hydroxychloroquine in treatment of patients with common coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)

Authors: CHEN Jun, LIU Danping, LIU Li, LIU Ping, XU Qingnian, XIA Lu, LING Yun, HUANG Dan, SONG Shuli, ZHANG Dandan, QIAN Zhiping, LI Tao, SHEN Yinzhong, LU Hongzhou (Department of Infection and Immunity, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China)

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of patients with common coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 30 treatment-naïve patients with confirmed COVID-19 after informed consent at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. The patients were randomized 1:1 to HCQ group and the control group. Patients in HCQ group were given HCQ 400 mg per day for 5 days plus conventional treatments, while those in the control group were given conventional treatment only. The primary endpoint was negative conversion rate of COVID-19 nucleic acid in respiratory pharyngeal swab on days 7 after randomization. This study has been approved by the ethics committee of Shanghai public health clinical center and registered online (NCT04261517).

Results: One patient in HCQ group developed to severe during the treatment. On day 7, COVID-19 nucleic acid of throat swabs was negative in 13 (86.7%) cases in the HCQ group and 14 (93.3%) cases in the control group (P＞0.05). The median duration from hospitalization to virus nucleic acid negative conservation was 4 (1-9) days in HCQ group, which is comparable to that in the control group [2 (1-4) days, (U = 83.5, P ＞ 0.05)]. The median time for body temperature normalization in HCQ group was 1 (0-2) after hospitalization, which was also comparable to that in the control group 1 (0-3). Radiological progression was shown on CT images in 5 cases (33.3%) of the HCQ group and 7 cases (46.7%) of the control group, and all patients showed improvement in follow-up examination. Four cases (26.7%) of the HCQ group and 3 cases (20%) of the control group had transient diarrhea and abnormal liver function (P＞ 0.05).

Conclusions: The prognosis of common COVID-19 patients is good. Larger sample size study is needed to investigate the effects of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19. Subsequent research should determine better endpoint and fully consider the feasibility of experiments such as sample size

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FACT CHECK: DID BOLA TINUBU CALL FOR REDUCTION OF NIGERIANS’ PURCHASING POWER?

-
Image
By Akin Ojumu  With respect to Bola Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, my position is pretty clear. Those who’ve been following my various commentaries on this issue know very well that I’m not a fan of Bola Tinubu and his unscrupulous campaign to become the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  My opposition to Bola Tinubu’s candidacy is visceral and intense. The man is a clear and present danger to the well-being of Nigeria, if he ever becomes president. BAT is an advanced metastatic cancer rapidly growing and spreading in the Nigeria polity. If the country must survive, this deadly cancer must be treated as all advanced cancers are treated; radical excision combined with several courses of radiotherapy and multiple cycles of chemotherapy cocktail in addition to the clearing of all associated lymph nodes. Now, there’s one thing I detest as much as Bola Tinubu’s presidential run, and that’s fake news. I cherish the truth, it’s the compass that guides us to safe shores. Wi
Read more

BECAUSE JOB DIDN’T TITHE, HIS LIFE BECAME TIGHT

-
Image
By Akin Ojumu Being the trust-but-verify guy that I am, while fact-checking a social media post by one of my High School friends, in which Bishop David Oyedepo was quoted to have linked the adversity of Job to his tithing habit, I was shocked, but not at all surprised, to find a 2019 video that did indeed confirm what my good friend shared.  In Bishop Oyedepo's telling, the real cause of Job's afflictions was his failure to pay tithes. According to him, God removed Job's divine security and allowed Satan to buffet him with calamity because the man was a habitual tithe defaulter. Because Job didn't tithe, his life became really tight. Here is the Bishop in his own words: “You can't see anywhere where Job tithed. So, his blessing was not secured. You can't find anywhere where Job tithed. No! He was overly committed to giving liberally to the poor and God was committed to bless him. But there was no security.” Just so it's absolutely clear. Bishop Oyedepo's
Read more

YOU CAN’T LOVE NIGERIA & WANT BOLA TINUBU AS ITS PRESIDENT

-
Image
By Akin Ojumu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a stranger to Nigerians. The man with the Graves Disease eyes has been around a long time. BAT is a vector of deadly viral disease of pandemic proportions. He is a parasite that takes over everything his hand touches.  The following is just a sample of what Bola Tinubu, allegedly, did to Lagos State: Number 4, Oyinkan Abayomi (Formerly Queens) Drive, Ikoyi – Valued at N450 Million A 5-bedroom detached house on one acre of land was Lagos State Governor’s guest house since 1979 Certificate of occupancy was signed and released to Tinubu by Fashola in 2007 26 Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi – Valued at N600 Million Originally claimed to be by Oando Plc Guest House, it was later acquired by Tinubu from Oando Lagos State Government paid to rebuild and renovate, it then purchased it from Tinubu for an undisclosed sum. Subsequently, the State handed the property back to Tinubu under the Pension Bill he signed into law shortly before Tinubu left office in 2
Read more