Scientists are currently focusing on two drugs, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine, to see if they can be possible treatments for the illness caused by COVID-19. However, there are some concerns about the safety and the efficacy of the said drugs.
There have been early signs that these drugs may be effective in treating or preventing coronavirus, but the medications have not undergone any clinical trials and there have been growing concerns about the impact that these drugs have on the heart.
Chloroquine trials in Brazil were cut short after several patients died. Researchers then found out that giving a high dose of the drug was linked to a severe type of arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat. In Sweden, experts have cautioned the public about the use of the drugs for COVID-19, and in America, medical experts and cardiology groups have urged the public to be aware of the serious implications of using the said drugs.
Heart risk concerns over the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19
There is no treatment for COVID-19 that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and scientists are still looking for a cure and a vaccine. However, the agency has issued an emergency use authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat patients that are hospitalized with COVID-19.
According to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, hydroxychloroquine has been used at least in the more developed part of the world for the treatment of lupus and it is much safer than chloroquine, but there are still concerns about its overall effect.
Experts warn about the use of hydroxychloroquine
U.S President Donald Trump has been endorsing hydroxychloroquine in his briefings as a cure for the symptoms of COVID-19, yet military doctors do not agree. Amid Trump's optimism about the drug, the experts stated that no high-quality evidence exists to support the use of the drug.
A report has been circulating among American physicians that warned that the drugs have toxic side effects and it can lead to cardiac complications. During his appearance on "Fox & Friends". FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn stated that there are still some questions that need to be answered around the safety and efficacy of the drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
Hahn said that there are some reports that hydroxychloroquine has some effectiveness in treating COVID-19 however the reports are not definitive yet, which is why clinical trials are so important to know if the drugs can really cure the disease or if it will only cause complications. He added that a large-scale trial is already underway at the National Institutes of Health.
The FDA Commissioner said, "I think it's important to point out that the evidence supports performing these trials to ask the question, and we really look forward to seeing those data to look at the safety and efficacy of this approach."
World Health Organization officials stated on April 13 that they are waiting for the outcomes of the studies and they are evaluating the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as possible COVID-19 treatment options, especially since the drugs are being used to treat some patients in certain countries even though they are considered as off label.
