Originally Posted By: Matter-eater Man
No benefit, higher death rate for malaria drug in coronavirus study

The criticism of Trump for getting ahead of studies on this appear to be a valid one. I think it’s good to talk about promising new drug treatments but over selling something is another thing.




Uh...


Hydroxychloroquine rated 'most effective therapy' by doctors for coronavirus: Global survey

 Quote:
By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Thursday, April 2, 2020




An international poll of more than 6,000 doctors released Thursday found that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine was the most highly rated treatment for the novel coronavirus.

The survey conducted by Sermo, a global health care polling company, of 6,227 physicians in 30 countries found that 37% of those treating COVID-19 patients rated hydroxychloroquine as the “most effective therapy” from a list of 15 options.

Of the physicians surveyed, 3,308 said they had either ordered a COVID-19 test or been involved in caring for a coronavirus patient, and 2,171 of those responded to the question asking which medications were most effective.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave chloroquine and its next-generation derivative, hydroxychloroquine, emergency-use authorization Monday for treating the novel coronavirus, although the drug was already being used off-label by some doctors and hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

The survey also found that the most commonly prescribed treatments are analgesics (56%), azithromycin (41%) and hydroxychloroquine (33%).


Azithromycin, known by the brand name Zithromax or Z-Pak, was rated the second-most effective therapy at 32%, followed by “nothing,” analgesics (including acetaminophen), anti-HIV drugs and cough medicine.

Hydroxychloroquine, which is sold under the brand name Plaquenil, was prescribed mainly in the United States for the most severe cases, but not so in other countries.

“Outside the U.S., hydroxychloroquine was equally used for diagnosed patients with mild to severe symptoms whereas in the U.S. it was most commonly used for high risk diagnosed patients,” the survey found.

The 30 nations surveyed included those in Europe, Asia, North America and South America, as well as Australia. No incentives were provided to participate in the poll, conducted March 25-27, according to Sermo.


ANNOUNCEMENT: To create a centralized & dynamic knowledge base we published results of our COVID-19 study, which over 6.2K physicians in 30 countries participated in: https://t.co/ppewwdo8wl pic.twitter.com/Fg5B6FMUCQ

Hydroxychloroquine usage was most widespread in Spain, where 72% of physicians surveyed said they had prescribed it, followed by Italy at 49%, and least popular in Japan, where 7% had used it to treat COVID-19.

The poll found 23% of U.S. medical professionals had prescribed the drug, which has been FDA-approved for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Debate about hydroxychloroquine has raged in the United States since President Trump touted it two weeks ago as a potential “game-changer” in the fight against the deadly pandemic, prompting critics to accuse him of peddling unproven remedies, or “snake oil,” as USA Today put it.


Trump-touted malaria drug takes center stage in coronavirus treatment fracas - https://t.co/LnIKLHZYXI - @washtimes #hydroxychloroquine #chloroquine #COVID19
— Valerie Richardson (@ValRichardson17) April 2, 2020
Sermo CEO Peter Kirk called the polling results a “treasure trove of global insights for policy makers.”

“Physicians should have more of a voice in how we deal with this pandemic and be able to quickly share information with one another and the world,” he said. “With censorship of the media and the medical community in some countries, along with biased and poorly designed studies, solutions to the pandemic are being delayed.”

The survey also found that 63% of U.S. physicians believe restrictions should be lifted in six weeks or more, and that the epidemic’s peak is at least 3-4 weeks away.

The survey also found that 83% of global physicians anticipate a second global outbreak, including 90% of U.S. doctors but only 50% of physicians in China.

On average, U.S. coronavirus testing takes 4-5 days, while 10% of cases take longer than seven days. In China, 73% of doctors reported getting results back in 24 hours.

In cases of ventilator shortages, all countries but China said the top criteria should be patients with the best chance of recovery (47%), followed by patients with the highest risk of death (21%), and then first responders (15%).

In China, the survey said doctors prioritized patients at greatest risk of death.



I'm open to whoever provides the facts. But outside the U.S., a majority of doctors up to now have used Hydroxychloroquine as their Covid-19 treatment of choice, and doctors in Europe are scratching their heads wondering why U.S. doctors are so resistant to it.

One epidemiologist, Dr Lipkin if I recall correctly, said he used Hydroxychloroquine on 125 patients, and all but 2 recovered, and within an incredible 5 or 6 days each, as opposed to the usual 3 or 4 weeks most Covid-19 patients take to leave hospital care.

THe above study you linked is the only one I've seen critical of Hydroxychloroquine. But it seemss to work for many patients, and I've posted several stories where individuals were at death's door, and within hours of being put on the Hydroxychloroquine have made an immediate recovery. Including a Michigan state Democrat congresswoman, who says without Trump's mentioning Hydroxychloroquine at a daily press conference, she never would have known of it to request it, and she would not be alive now.

It seems to be a case of Trump just suggested it as "a promising drug", and therefore those hostile to Trump, even within the medical community in the U.S., are kneejerk against it.

There are other therapies, the other two most promising being 1)Remdesevir, and 2) creating blood serum from recovered Covid-19 patients, to inject into infected patients, to teach their blood how to make antibodies. The last seems to be the most side-effect free, and the most universally recognized as successful.