A new Chinese study, conducted in a hospital in Wuhan, declared origin of the Covid-19 epidemic, evokes the “potential” of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against the new coronavirus.
Put online for pre-publication, i.e. not reviewed by a specialist reading committee of a scientific journal, a new Chinese study, conducted by doctors from the People’s Hospital of Wuhan, involved 62 infected patients, a group of 31 who received hydroxychloroquine (400 mg / day) and a control group of 31 patients also, who did not receive it.
An average age of 44.7 years
The two groups were randomized, by computer, and the patients had an average age of 44.7 years. Presenting symptoms of pneumonia which had not degenerated, they all received “standard treatment”, oxygen, antivirals, antibiotics, without further details. In addition, lung scans were performed before the start of the study, and after five full days of treatment.
After five days of treatment, patients in the group who received in addition tohydroxychloroquine presented a significantly better balance sheet for pneumonia, with an improvement in 80.6% of them (of which 61.3% presented a “significant improvement”), against 54.8% for the control group. Symptoms of fever and cough also eased faster in the hydroxychloroquine group than in the control group, the researchers said.
It seems promising to use hydroxychloroquine under supervision
In conclusion, the authors remain cautious, believing that “the potential of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19 has been partially confirmed”. “Considering that there is no other option at present, it seems promising to use hydroxychloroquine under supervision”, they continue, while stressing that “a larger clinical study and research are needed (. ..) to shed light on the specific mechanism of hydroxychloroquine and optimize treatment “.
This shows the effectiveness of this protocol
Professor Didier Raoult, French doctor tireless promoter of the use of hydroxychloroquine, author of two studies with the controversial methodology on the use against Covid-19 of this derivative of a current antimalarial, welcomed on Twitter of the results of this study: “Despite the small number of cases, the difference is significant. This shows the effectiveness of this protocol,” he argues.
A Chinese study shows that hydroxychloroquine improves the prognosis in COVID + patients (moderate to severe symptoms, excluding sheaves). Despite the small number of cases, the difference is significant.
This shows the effectiveness of this protocol.https: //t.co/YtPlQS27Bz– Didier Raoult (@raoult_didier) March 31, 2020
But the Swiss online science media Heidi.news raised several questions about the study, starting with its pre-publication, without prior peer review, the fact that it “most likely was carried out in the urgency “, the possibility that the patients could” receive other treatments, in particular antiviral, which cloud the results a little “, and finally” the short duration of follow-up “.
A “big limitation”
Florian Zores, cardiologist in Strasbourg, also stresses that this pre-publication constitutes a “big limitation”, as well as the fact that the study presented does not correspond to the compulsory prior declaration: this announced three different cohorts of 100 patients each with the objective of a final evaluation of virological load, while ultimately it is satisfied with clinical results.
The authors also do not specify “the characteristics of the excluded patients” from their study (80) and the formulation leaves doubts about the exact conditions of double-blind realization (neither the patients nor their doctors are supposed to know what is administered during treatment).
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