15:57 05/28.2020(updated 15:59 05/28.2020) Short url
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Spain does not plan to end the use of hydroxychloroquine, according to the daily El Pais, while France, Belgium and Italy have banned the prescription of the drug in the treatment of Covid-19 following an study published by the journal Lancet which claims the ineffectiveness of the substance.
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The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) said that the recent study claiming the ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19, published in the journal Lancet, did not present “convincing evidence” to put end the use of this drug in Spain or suspend the research currently being carried out in the country’s hospitals, reports the daily El Pais.
However, the Spanish health agency said the study “provides useful information.”
“But this is an observational study, not a clinical study, so it does not provide convincing and undeniable evidence, as there are many factors influencing these studies that could make so they are not really reliable, “said the agency’s spokesperson, quoted in the daily.
The Agency said that 15 clinical studies on hydroxychloroquine were under way in Spain and that almost all hospitals were carrying out observational studies.
“We also did not receive a warning about his safety. We do not believe there is any reason to stop the research in progress or to stop using the drug as part of an experimental treatment, “added AEMPS.
According to El Pais, hydroxychloroquine is widely used for this treatment in Spain. At least 85% of patients hospitalized for coronavirus in the country receive it.
France, Italy, Belgium and WHO react
In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to pause the series of tests for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine against Covid-19 to assess their effectiveness.
Following the WHO decision to suspend testing for hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19, the Medicines Agency “wishes to suspend” clinical trials with this molecule in France. In addition, Belgium and Italy have also banned the prescription of the drug for the treatment of Covid-19.
Didier Raoult speaks
In turn, Didier Raoult, a Marseille doctor who defends the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19, criticized the results of this study, judging that the big data on which the research was established as “a species completely delusional fantasy, which takes data of which one does not know the quality and which mixes all.
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