The researchers are planning a larger trial in their institution to validate their early findings. They summarize, “We have provided evidence of a beneficial effect of co-administration of hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin in the treatment of COVID-19 and its potential effectiveness in the early reduction of contagiousness. Given the urgent therapeutic need, and the negligible cost of both hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, we believe that there is an urgent need to evaluate this strategy further.”
Gautret, P., Lagier, J.-C., Parolam P., Hoang, V. T. et al. (2020). Clinical and Microbiological Effect of a Combination Of Hydroxychloroquine And Azithromycin In 80 Covid-19 Patients With At Least A Six-Day Follow Up: A Pilot Observational Study. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101663.
for those who want to delved deeper, a PDF version of the study can be found here:
TITLE:
Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: A pilot observational study
STUDY PARTICIPANTS:
Gautret P, Lagier J-C, Parola P, Hoang VT, Meddeb L, Sevestre J, Mailhe M, Doudier B, Aubry C, Amrane S, Seng P, Hocquart M, Eldin C, Finance J, Vieira VE, Dupont HervéTissot, Honoré Sté, Stein A, Million M, Colson P, La Scola B, Veit Vé, Jacquier A, Deharo J-C, Drancourt M, Fournier PE, Rolain J-M, Brouqui P, Raoult D