WHO temporarily pauses trials of HCQ over safety concerns
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Geneva, May 26: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced they had “temporarily” suspended the clinical trials of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) against coronavirus patients.
"The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board," Tedros told an online briefing.
"The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board"-@DrTedros #COVID19
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 25, 2020
The Director-General said the concern related only to the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for Covid-19, adding that These drugs are accepted as generally safe for use in patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria. But in COVID patients they have shown adverse effects," WHO revealed in their statement.
This move comes after the study found that using HCQ and chloroquine drugs could increase the risk of heart problems and death. The study found that both drugs can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia.
The study involved 96,000 coronavirus patients, nearly 15,000 of whom were given hydroxychloroquine - or related form chloroquine - either alone or with an antibiotic. The study found that the patients were more likely to die in the hospital and develop heart rhythm complications than other COVID patients in a comparison group.
Hydroxychloroquine is used to prevent or treat malaria. This medication is also used to treat certain auto-immune diseases lupus, rheumatoid arthritis. Earlier, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized emergency use of hydroxychloroquine in adults and adolescents weighing at least 110 pounds (50 kilograms) who are hospitalized with COVID-19.
Last week, US President Donald Trump said he had been taking the drug for about a week-and-a-half along with a zinc supplement daily. He has pushed hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Mike Ryan, head of the WHO emergency program, warned in the same virtual news conference that, despite countries easing lockdowns, the world is "right in the middle of the first wave" of the outbreak, and a there could be a second peak within the wave.