New study documents that hydroxychloroquine does work

A new study has documented that the controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine – which was touted and even taken by President Trump as helping fight coronavirus – works.

Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson reported at Just the News that the "large-scale analysis" by the Henry Ford Health System looked at 2,541 patients at six hospitals between March 10 and May 2.

While 26.4% of those who did not receive hydroxychloroquine died, only 13% of those who did get the drug died.

The study was headlined, "Treatment with hydroxychloroquine cut death rate significantly in COVID-19 patients, Henry Ford Health System study shows."

It appeared in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, a peer-reviewed, open-access online publication of the International Society of Infectious Diseases.

"Patients treated with hydroxychloroquine at Henry Ford met specific protocol criteria as outlined by the hospital system’s Division of Infectious Diseases. The vast majority received the drug soon after admission; 82% within 24 hours and 91% within 48 hours of admission. All patients in the study were 18 or over with a median age of 64 years; 51% were men and 56% African American," the report said.

Dr. Marcus Zervos, who heads infectious disease work for the health system, said, "The findings have been highly analyzed and peer-reviewed."

"We attribute our findings that differ from other studies to early treatment, and part of a combination of interventions that were done in supportive care of patients, including careful cardiac monitoring. Our dosing also differed from other studies not showing a benefit of the drug. And other studies are either not peer reviewed, have limited numbers of patients, different patient populations or other differences from our patients."

"Our analysis shows that using hydroxychloroquine helped saves lives," explained Dr. Steven Kalkanis, a neurosurgeon. "As doctors and scientists, we look to the data for insight. And the data here is clear that there was benefit to using the drug as a treatment for sick, hospitalized patients."

Zervos said the study results should be interpreted with some caution, should not be applied to patients treated outside of hospital settings and require further confirmation in prospective, randomized controlled trials that rigorously evaluate the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine therapy for COVID-19, the study report said.

"Currently, the drug should be used only in hospitalized patients with appropriate monitoring, and as part of study protocols, in accordance with all relevant federal regulations," Zervos said.

Most of the patients, above 90%, were given hydroxychloroquine within 48 hours of admission, and scientists think the quick dosages may be a key to success.

The U.S. Centers Disease Control & Prevention calls hydroxychloroquine a U.S. Food & Drug Administration-approved arthritis medicine that also can be used to prevent or treat malaria. It is available in the United States by prescription only.

Attkisson reported Trump was "widely criticized in the media for saying that if hydroxychloroquine proves to work in treating coronavirus, it could be a game changer."

He confirmed in May he took a course of the drug himself as a preventive measure, and suffered no ill effects.

Opinions about the drug varied widely when its use first was suggested to fight to COVID-19 pandemic that started in Wuhan, China, and spread worldwide.

In early April, a poll of 6,200 physicians in 30 countries found hydroxychloroquine to be the best drug available to treat COVID-19.

But a study published by The Lancet of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients that concluded there was no benefit in treating them with hydroxychloroquine and its more toxic cousin, chloroquine, and even increased the likelihood of them dying in hospital.

The infectious-disease specialist who briefed President Trump on the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine reported to WND he later was told to stop prescribing the drug to patients at the New York City-area hospital where he has admitting privileges unless it's done in a clinical trial.

Dr. Stephen M. Smith forwarded to WND an email he got from the leadership of the infectious disease division at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingson, New Jersey. The co-chair of the department, Dr. Lincoln Miller, announced the new policy to physicians, citing the recommendation of the hospital's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

"I have never heard of a hospital doing something like this," Smith told WND at the time.

"It goes against all my understanding of medical ethics in research," said the physician, a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and a former research scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"It's totally unethical. You are not allowed to steer people into a clinical study," Smith added. "That is strong-arming people."