The European medicines agency EMA emphasizes on Thursday in a warning that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have serious side effects. Both are used as experimental drugs in the treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
According to the EMA, the use of the antimalarial drug chloroquine and the rheumatic drug hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 is not without risk. It is also unclear whether patients benefit from these drugs.
EMA emphasizes that the risk of heart problems is a known side effect of these medicines. Especially use in high doses or in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin may lead to serious and sometimes fatal heart problems, according to the EMA.
For this reason, the EMA recommends closely monitoring COVID-19 patients treated with choloroquine and hydroxycholorquine and taking into account existing heart problems when choosing these medicines.
Research needed
The Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) has joined the EMA’s warning.
Leonoor Wijnans, clinical assessor at the MEB, explains that little is yet known about the consequences of the use of hydroxycholorquine and chloroquine in COVID-19 patients. “It really needs more research to know if patients will benefit from this. We know that these drugs can have serious side effects.”
In the Netherlands, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine may only be prescribed to COVID-19 patients in hospitals. In addition, according to the guidelines, cardiac movies should be made before and during treatment to check for heart problems.
A large-scale study is currently underway in several Dutch hospitals into the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 patients who are not in intensive care.
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