https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/texas-city-nursing-home-doctor-unproven-drug-trump-15192584.phpMore Texas City nursing home patients get Hydroxychloroquine as doctor sees progress
Houston Chronicle ^ | 04/11/2020 | Taylor Goldstein
The medical director at a Texas City nursing home says some COVID-19 patients on an unproven drug are showing signs of improvement and that he’s prescribed it to another dozen patients.
Dr. Robin Armstrong said the first group of nine patients at The Resort at Texas City — where 56 residents and employees have tested positive for the disease — finished their five-day treatment with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine on Wednesday and are stable.
“It seems like the patients are maintaining pretty steady and not having any difficulty, so that’s good,†Armstrong said, though he added that he can’t determine how much their improvement is attributable to the drug. “They seem to be getting better … We're just continuing to monitor them.â€
None of their respiratory problems have grown more severe, Armstrong said, addressing one of the most serious complications of the virus.
As he expands the number of patients in the treatment group from 27 to 39, Armstrong continues to prescribe the medication after conversations with only the patients and without notifying families, which he says is not necessary and too time-consuming.
“If I had to call all the families for every medicine that I started on a patient, I wouldn’t be treating any patients at all; I would just be talking to families all the time,†Armstrong said.
But around him, a fierce debate has emerged. The use of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients has drawn controversy globally as the medical community and public debate the ethics of trying out a medication before significant research is available — and in the case of elderly patients such as those in the Texas City nursing home, on a population that is statistically more vulnerable to the virus.
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