The world health Organization (WHO) has finally settled. Monday, may 25, the specialized agency of the united Nations for the public health has revealed to suspend "temporarily" the clinical trials with hydroxychloroquine it has with its partners in several countries. A decision following the publication of a study in the medical journal the Lancet. This study considers hydroxychloroquine to be ineffective, or even harmful to treat patients with Covid-19, indicated the director-general of WHO. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a virtual press conference, added that the suspension had been decided on Saturday.
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WHO launched it more than two months of clinical trials including hydroxychloroquine, dubbed the " Solidarity ", with the aim of finding an effective treatment against the Covid-19. Currently, "more than 400 hospitals in 35 countries, actively recruiting patients, and nearly 3 500 patients have been recruited from 17 countries," explained the boss of WHO. However, according to the vast study published in The Lancet, nor chloroquine or its derivative hydroxychloroquine not be effective against the Covid-19 among hospitalized patients, and these molecules increase the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia.
"It is a temporary measure"
The study analyzed data from approximately 96 000 people infected by the virus Sars-CoV-2 admitted in 671 hospitals between December 20, 2019 and April 14, 2020, which were released or died since. Approximately 15 000 of them have received one of four combinations (chloroquine alone or in conjunction with the antibiotic, hydroxychloroquine alone or in conjunction with this same antibiotic), and then these four groups were compared for 81 000 patients in the control group who did not receive the treatment. The tests conducted by WHO and its partners regarding the hydroxychloroquine will be suspended the time that "data" collected by the testing Solidarity "will be examined," said Dr. Tedros. "It is a temporary measure," said the Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, in charge of the Scientific department at the WHO. Hydroxychloroquine is a derivative of chloroquine, prescribed for several decades against malaria. Known in France under the name of Plaquenil, hydroxychloroquine is prescribed for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
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hydroxychloroquine has experienced since the end of February a notoriety not seen since the French professor Didier Raoult has made public several studies, which according to him show the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine is associated with a macrolide antibiotic, azithromycin. The excitement around the hydroxychloroquine has experienced a resurgence when the american president Donald Trump has made this the apostle, to the point of taking himself on a daily basis as a preventative measure. In Brazil, the president Jair Bolsonaro is convinced of its effects, to the point that the ministry of Health has recommended its use for all patients compared with. On Monday, the head of the WHO had to recall that, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, " are recognized as being generally safe for patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria ".
