Posted on 04/01/2020 7:35:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Early data from yet another study of the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine in Covid-19 patients is interesting, and perhaps promising, but doesn’t clear up questions about the therapy’s efficacy, analysts say.
The study, conducted by scientists at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and distributed before peer review on Monday, is among the first randomized, double-blind clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine in Covid-19 patients.
The drug has received enormous attention as an experimental Covid-19 treatment after President Trump highlighted its perceived potential in media briefings and on Twitter, and the Food and Drug Administration authorized its use to treat Covid-19 on an emergency basis under certain circumstances.
The Renmin study, which involved 62 patients, 31 of whom were given hydroxychloroquine, found that the patients who received the drug recovered about one day faster than patients who did not. Of the 62 patients, 4 developed severe illness, all of them in the control group.
But analysts who reviewed the study wrote in notes that key questions remain. “While these pre-print data are interesting, we caution against over-interpreting,” UBS analyst Navin Jacob wrote on Tuesday.
Jacob noted that the severity of illness at the start of the study wasn’t balanced between the patients who received hydroxychloroquine and those who didn’t. “Progression severity of early stage patients vs. natural subsiding of disease in more severe patients could account for the efficacy difference,” Jacob wrote. “Furthermore, it’s possible the HCQ arm had a greater proportion of patients on other therapies that were beneficial vs. the control arm.”
(Excerpt) Read more at barrons.com ...
NOTE:
There have been significant weaknesses in the design of the two Covid-19 hydroxychloroquine studies that preceded this one. The French trial that received tremendous attention last week was small (80 patients) and not randomized, meaning that all patients received the treatment. Patients from another treatment center, and patients from the same center who refused the hydroxychloroquine, were used as a control group in that study.
“Analysts say”
Our media needs a cure and perhaps one previously though to be undoable.
And one more little point. The cloroquine ALONE has not been said to be the answer. It is the combo of this with Azithromycin.
Was this study done with just the anti malaria or in conjunction with ZPack .
Chinese study. Who buys this garbage!?
Paralysis by analysis.
No. And that’s the trick. A Michigan doctor did same. It’s like not adding the jelly to a P&J.
“Chinese study. Who buys this garbage!?”
Yeah. I got to the Wuhan lab and said, “WTF”?
We need to be on a war footing with China, not reading their propoganda.
Barrons is using Chinese data to report news?
Bye. You can’t make up this kind of stupid. These idiots brought this on everyone, the virus still rages there, people are still dying, and Barron’s is using ANYTHING Chinese as definitive?
What happened to these publications? WSJ is another one. I can’t think of a single newspaper worth its salt anymore. I miss reading the paper. Especially on Sundays with coffee. Sad, really.
Is it in China’s interest that a cure is found?
The headline is just wrong. “Of the 62 patients, 4 developed severe illness, all of them in the control group.” Translation: 0/31 people taking HCQ developed severe illness, 4/31 people not taking HCQ developed severe illness.
Still leaves questions?!? Yeah, questions like “should we start giving HCQ to patients RIGHT NOW or yesterday”.
I used to love the Sunday Funnies.
You mean like what President Trump said....and Fauci undermined the President and many doctors with his “anecdotal” cr**.
Bingo.
Don’t forget the Zinc.
And you believe Chinese research?? Sorry....no thanks.
Now did this study come out of the same China that was lying their ass off about two months ago about this? The same China that in January told us it could not spread from person to person? Is this study from THAT China?
If we are on a war footing with China does it make sense to shut down our economy?
I have to conclude that the French doctor lacked the resources to design his study more like this one. Time will tell whether these results are reproducible.
It will interesting to see how significant the other claims in the study turn out to be.
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