# Randomized study shows positive results for hydroxychloroquine **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 30, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692 "2020-03-30T20:12:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/1 "2020-03-30T20:12:16Z")
Number of patients in study was 62. A little over 80% of patients on hydroxychloroquine showed Improvement versus 55% of those in the control group. No patients in hydroxychloroquine group develop severe symptoms. I believe it was four in the control group moved on to develop severe symptoms. Two patients in the hydroxychloroquine group had a mild adverse reaction to the treatment. Very hopeful results. Link > **[Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19: results of a...](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v1)** > > Aims Studies have indicated that chloroquine (CQ) shows antagonism against COVID-19 in vitro . However, evidence regarding its effects in patients is limited. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of... ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/2 "2020-03-30T20:42:15Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > Number of patients in study was 62. A little over 80% of patients on hydroxychloroquine showed Improvement versus 55% of those in the control group. No patients in hydroxychloroquine group develop severe symptoms. I believe it was four in the control group moved on to develop severe symptoms. Two patients in the hydroxychloroquine group had a mild adverse reaction to the treatment. Very hopeful results. > > Link > > [https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v1](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v1) The numbers were small - the New York study should tell us more. Still this was a randomized double-blind study. The 2 mild reactions were a cough and rash. ---
**Author:** ![Settimo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Settimo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Settimo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/3 "2020-03-30T21:56:04Z")
That looks promising, but mind the link (to medrxiv) is to a preprint server, and, unless you’ve got a link to the paper in a reputable journal, the paper has not been peer reviewed. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/4 "2020-03-30T22:18:56Z")
Aware that this is not peer reviewed. Likely the New York study and probably all other studies will be published first without peer review. I’m sure the circumstances warrants getting this information out as soon as possible. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/5 "2020-03-30T22:32:49Z")
Just like it was so important for Didier Raoult to get his ‘results’ out quick. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/6 "2020-03-30T23:24:49Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Just like it was so important for Didier Raoult to get his ‘results’ out quick. > > CMC fnord! Just today he published a study involving 80 patients using hydroxychloroquine with very good results. Some Asian countries have been using hydroxychloroquine since February for covid 19. Hydroxychloroquine is also shown to be effective against covid-19 in vitro. All that said, I think it would be pretty hard to tell the family of someone about to die on a ventilator - who may want this - that you are waiting for a peer-reviewed study published in the Lancet before trying this 80 year old drug. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/7 "2020-03-30T23:42:28Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > [https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v1](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v1) Zhaowei Chen, Jijia Hu, Zongwei Zhang, Shan Shan Jiang, Shoumeng Han, Dandan Yan, Ruhong Zhuang, Ben Hu, Zhan Zhang > **[‘It's All Fake!’: Watch Wuhan Residents Shout Down a Top China Official...](https://www.vice.com/en/article/4agbnm/its-all-fake-watch-wuhan-residents-shout-down-a-top-china-official-during-coronavirus-visit)** > > China Vice Premier Sun Chunlan visited Wuhan to inspect the response to coronavirus. It did not go well. I’ll wait for someone else to do the same study. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/8 "2020-03-30T23:59:18Z")
Also [Estimates Show Wuhan Death Toll Far Higher Than Official Figure — Radio Free Asia](https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/wuhan-deaths-03272020182846.html) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/9 "2020-03-31T00:00:39Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > {…} All that said, I think it would be pretty hard to tell the family of someone about to die on a ventilator - who may want this - that you are waiting for a peer-reviewed study published in the Lancet before trying this 80 year old drug. All that said, as an immunosuppressed, diabetic, with moderate to severe asthma who, should I get this, will probably die on a ventilator . . . assuming there’s even a bed in the ICU for me, I DEMAND more than, potentially, empty promises. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/10 "2020-03-31T00:14:33Z")
My stepmother, who is in the ICU on a ventilator at a top NYC hospital, is getting this drug. I am curious to know whether she will end up being part of a study. (If it makes you feel better about it, she also has lupus, but according to Dad hasn’t been given this drug until now.) I am pretty damn confident that the hospital wouldn’t try it if they didn’t think there were a potential benefit under the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/11 "2020-03-31T00:15:16Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > All that said, as an immunosuppressed, diabetic, with moderate to severe asthma who, should I get this, will probably die on a ventilator . . . assuming there’s even a bed in the ICU for me, I DEMAND more than, potentially, empty promises. > > CMC fnord! Well other than your last statement not making any sense ---- its potential Therapeutics like this one that will keep beds open and people out of the ICU. So you better hope they find some treatment that keeps people out of the hospital and out of ICU beds because it’s not just you it’s all of us. That’s why studies like this are important and that’s why it’s important to get this information out as quick as possible and that’s why publishing information like this for doctor’s and people to use when making their decisions is also important. This virus isn’t waiting. If there’s information you don’t wait. These aren’t normal times. We have some kind of therapeutic or this going to kill a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/12 "2020-03-31T00:28:42Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > Well other than your last statement not making any sense ---- its potential Therapeutics like this one that will keep beds open and people out of the ICU. So you better hope they find some treatment that keeps people out of the hospital and out of ICU beds because it’s not just you it’s all of us. That’s why studies like this are important and that’s why it’s important to get this information out as quick as possible and that’s why publishing information like this for doctor’s and people to use when making their decisions is also important. This virus isn’t waiting. If there’s information you don’t wait. These aren’t normal times. We have some kind of therapeutic or this going to kill a lot of people. Columbia University is conducting a study using hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis. They’re compressing phase 2 and phase 3 trials to save time. [https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04318444](https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04318444) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/13 "2020-03-31T00:40:23Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > My stepmother, who is in the ICU on a ventilator at a top NYC hospital, is getting this drug. I am curious to know whether she will end up being part of a study. (If it makes you feel better about it, she also has lupus, but according to Dad hasn’t been given this drug until now.) I am pretty damn confident that the hospital wouldn’t try it if they didn’t think there were a potential benefit under the circumstances. I’m not sure with hydrochloroquine but, with remdesivir, you can’t get it unless you’re part of a trial. I would find it unlikely that any use of non-traditional medications - unless you know someone and greased a few palms - would be given out for a Covid-19 patient unless it was also part of some trial, collecting numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/14 "2020-03-31T00:44:24Z")
Korea has been using hydroxychloroquine with covid19 patients since February. Might be wise to ask ourselves how they are doing. Link [http://m.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=7428](http://m.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=7428) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/15 "2020-03-31T00:46:50Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m not sure with hydrochloroquine but, with remdesivir, you can’t get it unless you’re part of a trial. I would find it unlikely that any use of non-traditional medications - unless you know someone and greased a few palms - would be given out for a Covid-19 patient unless it was also part of some trial, collecting numbers. I am talking about hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/16 "2020-03-31T00:47:57Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > Well other than your last statement not making any sense ---- its potential Therapeutics like this one that will keep beds open and people out of the ICU. So you better hope they find some treatment that keeps people out of the hospital and out of ICU beds because it’s not just you it’s all of us. That’s why studies like this are important and that’s why it’s important to get this information out as quick as possible and that’s why publishing information like this for doctor’s and people to use when making their decisions is also important. This virus isn’t waiting. If there’s information you don’t wait. These aren’t normal times. We have some kind of therapeutic or this going to kill a lot of people. I give up. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/17 "2020-03-31T00:48:29Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > My stepmother, who is in the ICU on a ventilator at a top NYC hospital, is getting this drug. I am curious to know whether she will end up being part of a study. (If it makes you feel better about it, she also has lupus, but according to Dad hasn’t been given this drug until now.) I am pretty damn confident that the hospital wouldn’t try it if they didn’t think there were a potential benefit under the circumstances. If she were part of a trial she would know it. The consent of the patient is absolutely required to participate in a study, and if she were incapacitated a family member would have to provide it. \* So if she’s not part of the study, and the doc is telling you she’s getting the drug, you can be sure she is. Hopefully that’s encouraging. \*Unless they’ve waived informed consent requirements, which honestly seems unimaginable to me. Like, utterly impossible, no way they’d do that, nofuckingwaythey’lldothattuskeegeeairmen. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/18 "2020-03-31T00:51:37Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > If she were part of a trial she would know it. The consent of the patient is absolutely required to participate in a study, and if she were incapacitated a family member would have to provide it. \* > > So if she’s not part of the study, and the doc is telling you she’s getting the drug, you can be sure she is. Hopefully that’s encouraging. > > \*Unless they’ve waived informed consent requirements, which honestly seems unimaginable to me. Like, utterly impossible, no way they’d do that, nofuckingwaythey’lldothattuskeegeeairmen. I am not sure how conscious she is right now, and when I Facetimed with Dad this morning, it wasn’t at the top of the list of things to talk about. Just idle curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/randomized-study-shows-positive-results-for-hydroxychloroquine/850692/19 "2020-03-31T01:50:43Z")
So Laura Ingraham tweeted about this treatment, and she had to pull the tweet because she had misrepresented the credentials of the doctor - I gather she had made it sound like he was a doctor on the front lines actually treating coronavirus patients, when in fact he was a doctor in a different specialty (oncology) that was affiliated with Lenox Hill. > **[Malaria drugs touted by Trump can work against coronavirus, top doc tells...](https://www.foxnews.com/media/malaria-drugs-touted-by-trump-can-work-against-coronavirus-top-doc-tells-laura-ingraham)** > > Data show that anti-malaria drugs touted by President Trump can help in treating coronavirus patients, a top oncologist said Friday on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle." Then I found this article about the incident and had a very personal WTF moment. Because this is the same doctor that, in 2004, sold my dying fiancé on some revolutionary test that was going to come up with an individualized chemo regime that would put his stage 4 cancer into remission. It didn’t work. This person is the reason for my interest in and skepticism about early stage medical breakthroughs. He’s not the reason for my skepticism now, of course. My interest in the subject has left me lots of other reasons to be skeptical. But it started with him. Small world, I guess.