StillMatterVille
From Derek Lowe's latest, titled: Hydroxychloroquine: Enough Already?
At this point, it’s getting hard to see how the idea of a hydroxychloroquine (or hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin) therapy for coronavirus infection can be taken seriously....
First there is this:
...I reviewed some of the recent studies here, but missed a May 11 preprint from France that had claimed benefit for the combination. No matter, though: this was just withdrawn by the authors, who say that they are revising the manuscript...
And then there is this:
And then there is this:
...This morning brings this paper from The Lancet. It’s a retrospective look at registered patients across 671 hospitals around the world, and it covers four patient groups: treatment with chloroquine, chloroquine plus a macrolide antibiotic (azithromycin, doxycycline), hydroxychloroquine, or hydroxychloroquine with a macrolide. All of these patients were started on these treatment regimens within 48 hours of diagnosis. The study specifically excludes those patients whose treatment started later, anyone whose therapy was started while they were on mechanical ventilation, or anyone received remdesivir as well. Early treatment in less severe patients only, in other words...
That last part is important, because a concern with some of the earlier studies that showed a lack of efficacy was that the treatments were started too late in the course of the disease
That last part is important, because a concern with some of the earlier studies that showed a lack of efficacy was that the treatments were started too late in the course of the disease
But what about sample size, cohorts, and confounding variables?
...96,032 patients were registered in these hospitals with the coronavirus during the study period (December 20, 2019 to April 14, 2020); this is a large data set. The mean age of the patients was just under 54 years, 54/46 male/female. 14,888 of them were in the treatment sets defined above: 1868 got straight chloroquine, 3783 got chloroquine with a macrolide, 3016 received hydroxychloroquine by itself, and another 6221 got HCQ with a macrolide). That leaves 81,144 patients as a control group getting other standard of care. Let’s note at the start that the authors controlled for a number of confounding factors (such as age, sex, race or ethnicity, body-mass index, cardiovascular disease and risk factors, diabetes, lung disease, smoking, immunosuppressed condition, and overall disease severity)...
Clearly, solid on those fronts.
So, outcomes?
...The mortality in the control group was 9.3%. The mortality in the chloroquine group was 16.4%. The mortality in the chloroquine plus macrolide group was 22.2%. The mortality in the hydroxychloroquine group was 18%. And the mortality in the hydroxychloroquine plus macrolide group was 23.8%...
And, when you factor in the increases in cardiac arrhythmias, things get even worse for the treatment groups.
Thus, it would appear that, with data like these, this Zombie, errrrr, treatment is likely often contraindicated.
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So, given all that, what will certain non-medical enablers do no now?
My prediction is a double-down on the prophylactic card.
Gosh, I wonder how that will turn out?
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As we have mentioned in the past, Dr. Lowe has both the bona fides and the track record to rigorously assess this stuff.
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3 comments:
Meanwhile, in Brazil. Some is good, more is better.
May 19.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brazil-record-deaths-coronavirus-covid-19-1.5576140
Despite this report of April 24
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/chloroquine-study-coronavirus-brazil
With the hyping of this drug and the increase in sales since the aforementioned hyping, one has to wonder if their is something in it for the hypers.?
It’s not a stretch to conclude thus far the presidency is being used as a “what’s in it for me” administration, and is very contagious.
And if as trump says it has been prescribed by his doctor, is using a potentially dangerous drug in these circumstances with very little data to support that use, a breach of medical ethics.?
anyone take a multivitamin just in case -d,selenium?
The % of people who died while taking some of these drugs, did give me hope there for awhile, but it is doubtful Trump actually has taking any of these drugs. Most likely just saying he was to hype the drugs and increase the price of shares on the stock market. Now if his base takes the drugs and die, could mean fewer base to vote for him...........O.K. I don't wish anyone death. However, those are the facts.
We do have some news out of Alberta, some there want the border with the U.S.A. opened. OMG you just can't fix stupid. Lets hope Trudeau keeps that border closed because the virus is much to prevelent in the U.S.A. to allow any of them into our country.
On the upside there appears to be some "friction" within Kenny's happy little group. the Alberta Politics blog also reported the $2 an hr. salary increase promised to some front line workers went to their employers and none of the workers have seen the money for 2 months.
We've got our own little group of trumplets in Alberta. In the meantime thankfully the other provincial governments and the federal government are committed to science and we're starting to see things improve, except of course in Alberta where they have slaughter houses.
As of this evening the Veterans Hospitals in the U.S.A. were still "experimenting" with Veterans and these medications. kind of reminds you of Mengela during WW II.
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