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FDA Discontinues the Use of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine to Combat COVID-19: Megan Brown

On June 15, 2020, the FDA revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA) that allowed the use of chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate to be used to combat the coronavirus. Their claims for this decision are based on the fact that these drugs could contribute to the development of heart disease. Additionally, the FDA claims that the drugs are no longer effective in defending against the virus, therefore the risks of these drugs outweigh the benefits. 

As of now, there is no approved treatment associated with COVID-19. The people diagnosed with the disease are not prescribed any medications or remedies to protect them from potentially deadly symptoms. Knowing this, why wouldn’t doctors continue prescribing something that had some sort of promise versus nothing at all? The answer to this question has no simple solutions, but there are recent studies that provide reasons as to why hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate should have never been discontinued for protection against COVID. 

Based on a new study done by the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, of the 2,541 patients analyzed between March 10 and May 2, 2020, 13% of those treated with only hydroxychloroquine died versus 26.4% that were not treated at all. None of these patients experienced heart abnormalities; a reason as to why the FDA revoked the EUA. 82% of the test subjects received the drug within 24 hours of admission and 91% within 48 hours. All patients in this study were 18 years of age or older, with a median age of 67. Based on the results of this study, the number of deaths due to the coronavirus could potentially be avoided by half, making the use of this inexpensive remedy very promising. 

One point that was brought up in the article was how this study contradicts other studies that have been done analyzing the use of hydroxychloroquine. First, the findings have been highly analyzed and peer-reviewed, which is important to note due to bias information and non-credible information that could be available. Second, the patients in this study were treated early, so there was a large hope for recovery. Right now coronavirus patients are only given medication on their deathbed which, for most, is too late. Third, there was supportive care of patients including close cardiac monitoring that could help catch any side effects that could potentially be fatal. Fourth, the dosing in this study was different than studies that have shown no results. Other studies are also not peer-reviewed, have a limited number of patients, and different patient populations. 

Altogether, the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine shows great promise if used early enough and in the right way. With the amount of testing being done it should be effective to get this inexpensive, FDA approved remedy to the public, as it has been used previously to treat both lupus and malaria without concern.  

 

Works Cited

Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “FDA Cautions Use of Hydroxychloroquine/Chloroquine for COVID-19.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 2020, www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-cautions-against-use-hydroxychloroquine-or-chloroquine-covid-19-outside-hospital-setting-or.

Commissioner, Office of the. “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Revokes Emergency Use Authorization for Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 2020, www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-revokes-emergency-use-authorization-chloroquine-and.

“Test for Current Infection.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/diagnostic-testing.html.

“Treatment with Hydroxychloroquine Cut Death Rate Significantly in COVID-19 Patients, Henry Ford Health System Study Shows.” HenryFord HEALTH SYSTEM ®, 2 July 2020, www.henryford.com/news/2020/07/hydro-treatment-study.

 

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22 Comments

  1. I understand your point that the drug has helped some patients with Covid-19 and has been used in the past to treat lupus and malaria. But, the FDA wouldn’t ban it unless it had been proven to be harmful. And just because it has been used in the past to treat patients with other diseases that doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be approved because the drug could interact with covid-19. When dealing with matters of public health I think the FDA should take the “better safe than sorry” method and ban potentially harmful drugs instead of hoping that it is safe.

  2. I think this is one of the more controversial topics regarding COVID recently. Is it really ethical to administer a drug that will likely increase your chances of survival, but cause potential heart issues down the road? Could this maybe be a drug that is administered only on certain occasions where the patient may not be as susceptible to further health complications? Either way, I think there are valid points on both sides of the argument, but I don’t see Hydroxychloroquine phosphate being used anymore for this virus.

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