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Trump-Endorsed Hydroxychloroquine Linked To Higher Risk Of Death In Coronavirus Patients, Medical Analysis Finds......Isabel Togoh Forbes Staff

TOPLINE An observational study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients who received antimalarial drugs—including hydroxychloroquine—found they had an increased risk of death or cardiac issues, seeming to dash hopes that the drug touted and taken by President Trump is an effective treatment for Covid-19.

KEY FACTS
The findings, published on Friday in medical journal The Lancet, surveyed 96,000 coronavirus patients across six continents and is the biggest analysis yet of the use of antimalarial drugs to treat Covid-19.

Researchers found that patients who received hydroxychloroquine saw their risk of death climb by 34%, as well as a 137% higher risk of developing heart arrhythmia.

Those risks climbed dramatically among patients who took hydroxychloroquine alongside an antibiotic, a mixture that President Trump is taking to ward off the virus: Risk of death rose to 45%, while risk of arrhythmia rose to 411%.

The Lancet findings did not come from a controlled study, but from an analysis of medical records. However, the size of the analysis offers scientists a basis to conclude that the drug can cause more harm than good if used to treat coronavirus.

To date, there has been little to no evidence that hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine are effective treatments for coronavirus, and the findings from The Lancet echo warnings from the FDA and NIH that the drug can trigger abnormal heart rhythms.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against Covid-19, while the National Institutes of Health advises against people taking it as a treatment, due to a lack of clinical data showing it is a safe and effective treatment.