Anti-malaria drug touted by Trump has high death risk in COVID-19 patients, new study shows
By Nathaniel Weixel - 05/22/20 10:48 AM EDT
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria touted by President Trump, had a much higher risk of death than those who were not, according to a new study of 96,000 patients.
The study, published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet, found that patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine also faced a much higher risk of abnormal heartbeats, called arrhythmias, which could result in cardiac arrest.
The study looked at patients across six different continents, and is the largest analysis to date on the effects of treating COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.
Nearly 15,000 of the 96,000 patients in the analysis were treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone or in combination with an antibiotic called a macrolide, similar to azithromycin, within 48 hours of their diagnosis.
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https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/499140-anti-malaria-drug-hyped-by-trump-has-high-death-risk-in-covid-patients-new