In a new study, researchers found that malaria drug hydroxychloroquine—with or without azithromycin—did not reduce the risk of ventilation or death and was linked to a longer length of hospital stay.
The study is the first in the US to report data on hydroxychloroquine outcomes for COVID-19 from a nationwide integrated health system.
The research was conducted by a team at the Columbia VA Health Care System and elsewhere.
The study included data from 807 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Veterans Affairs medical centers around the country.
About half, 395 patients, did not receive hydroxychloroquine at any time during their hospitalization.
Among those who did, 198 patients were treated with hydroxychloroquine, and 214 were treated with both hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.
Most of the patients given hydroxychloroquine, about 86%, received it before being put on a mechanical ventilator.
The team found the risk of death from any cause was higher in the hydroxychloroquine group but not in the hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin group when these were compared with the non-hydroxychloroquine group.
The researchers also found that the length of hospital stay was 33% longer in the hydroxychloroquine group and 38% longer in the hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin group than in the no-hydroxychloroquine group.
Pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes were relatively common and similar across all groups.
The researchers reported that their study has strengths that earlier studies have not had.
Additionally, because the data came from an integrated national healthcare system, the findings were less susceptible to biases that might occur in a single-center or regional study.
The researchers also note that the findings don’t provide insight into the use of these drugs in the outpatient setting or as prophylaxis, but they add that the FDA and the U.S. National Institutes of Health have both advised against the use of hydroxychloroquine outside of clinical trials.
The study is published in the journal Med.
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