In this article, we will discuss the treatment of COVID-19.
There is a tendency to focus on the prevention of COVID-19, but I think the most important thing is the treatment.
For those who only look at the numbers of infected people, they seem to think that they will not get the disease, but for those who have actually been infected, they would like to see appropriate treatment.
However, there is no established treatment method, and we are still searching for a way to adapt existing methods.
The study presented here reviews the use of existing drugs.
The studies
This will be a search and review of studies that have examined the administration of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to people infected with COVID-19.
Fourteen relevant studies were found, with 12 studies involving 8,569 adults in which chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine was used to treat COVID-19.
Two studies reviewed 3,346 infected but asymptomatic adults who were treated with hydroxychloroquine to block COVID-19.
The studies were conducted in China, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Taiwan, North America, and Europe; one study was conducted worldwide.
Some of the studies were partially funded by pharmaceutical companies that manufacture hydroxychloroquine.
When hydroxychloroquine was compared with usual care or a placebo, the results of nine studies showed no effect on the number of people who died.
And there was no effect on the number of people needing ventilators, and there may be no effect on those who had viral testing done 14 days after being affected.
Furthermore, it is not known whether hydroxychloroquine affected the number of people whose symptoms improved after 28 days.
Compared to other antiviral treatments (lopinavir and ritonavir), chloroquine did not reduce the time needed for symptoms to improve, according to the study.
Compared to usual care in one study of 444 people, hydroxychloroquine combined with azithromycin (an antibiotic) made no difference in mortality, people needing ventilators, or hospital stays.There was no difference in the number of hospitalizations or changes seen in lung tests when hydroxychloroquine was given in comparison to febuxostat (a drug that treats gout).
There were no reports on deaths.
In terms of prevention of COVID-19, it is not known how hydroxychloroquine compared to placebo affected the number of people who developed the disease, or how it affected the number of hospitalizations.
There was no difference in the risk of developing the disease when compared to usual care.
As for undesirable effects, the results show that mild effects occur when hydroxychloroquine is compared to usual care or placebo.
Reviewer's conclusion
HCQ in people infected with COVID-19 has little or no effect on the risk of death and probably no effect on progression to ventilator. Adverse events were three times higher than placebo, but few serious adverse events were found. Further trials of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for treatment should not be undertaken.
These results make it unlikely that the drugs will be effective in protecting people from infection, although this has not been completely ruled out. It is probably prudent to complete trials that examine the prevention of infection and ensure that these are carried out to a high standard to provide clear results.
Singh B, Ryan H, Kredo T, Chaplin M, Fletcher T. Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD013587. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013587.pub2. Accessed 17 February 2021.
Conclusion
The drugs covered in the study were those used for the treatment of malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
As a result, as mentioned above, there were no undesirable effects, so it is unlikely that the drugs will be adopted as treatments at this time.
