On May 25th, WHO held a regular press conference in COVID-19. Tan Desai, Director-General of WHO, said that The Lancet magazine published an observational study on the influence of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on hospitalized patients in COVID-19 last Friday, which showed that the mortality rate of patients was expected to be higher when used alone or in combination with macrolides.
On Saturday, the WHO's "Solidarity Experiment" executive team decided to conduct a comprehensive analysis and critical evaluation of all the evidence in the world, including the data collected in the "Solidarity Experiment", so as to comprehensively evaluate the potential role and harm of hydroxychloroquine. At present, the use of hydroxychloroquine in the "Unity Experiment" has been suspended.
Extended data
The Lancet magazine's research results on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine;
It is found that the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients is related to the increase of mortality and arrhythmia. The researchers suggest that these drug regimens should not be used for the treatment of COVID-19 outside clinical trials, and there is an urgent need for randomized clinical trials to prove the safety and effectiveness of drugs in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Mandip Mehra, the lead author of this paper, said: "This is the first large-scale study that found strong statistical evidence that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine treatment is not beneficial to COVID-19 patients. On the contrary, our research found that it may be related to the increased risk of serious heart disease and death. Randomized clinical trials are essential to confirm the hazards or benefits of these drugs. At the same time, we recommend not to use these drugs to treat COVID-19 outside clinical trials. "
People's Daily Overseas Network-WHO: Suspend the use of hydroxychloroquine in the "Unity Experiment"