Researchers Urge Doctors To Stop Prescribing Hydroxychloroquine For COVID Treatment
BOSTON (CBS) -- Researchers are strongly urging doctors to stop prescribing a drug that once held hope in treating patients with COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine can be used safely to treat conditions like Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Early on, there was hope that it could help treat patients with COVID-19, but the evidence just hasn't panned out.
Despite that, this year alone, more than half a million prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine have been written for COVID-19.
Now, after reviewing the newest data from five clinical trials involving hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19, researchers once again found no significant benefit and the possibility of serious cardiac harm. They once again strongly recommend against its use for either the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.