These are conclusions which should hardly satisfy Professor Raoult and his multiple supporters. A large study published this Friday in the very serious scientific journal The Lancet shows that, to treat Covid-19, the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine - molecules dear to the Marseille infectiologist, who is currently conducting clinical trials in this sense - does not demonstrate any benefit against the virus.
On the contrary: these two molecules can increase the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia. In a press release, the study's lead author, Dr. Mandeep Mehra, points out that "this is the first large-scale study" on this subject and judges the results to be "robust". His work focuses on the analysis of patients infected with Covid-19 and hospitalized in 671 hospitals on six separate continents, between December 2019 and April 2020, i.e. more than 96,000 people.
In addition to a control group of patients, who received no treatment, the others were divided into four groups and each received treatment, within 48 hours of diagnosis. For these nearly 15,000 patients, the doctors used a choice of: chloroquine alone, chloroquine combined with a macrolide (a family of antibiotics), hydroxychloroquine administered alone, or in company, too , of a macrolide.
A "decrease in hospital survival"
Scientists who have looked into the health of these 15,000 patients have learned without question: "Each of these treatment regimens was associated with reduced survival in hospital," they write, adding that 'They were, in fact,' unable to confirm the benefit 'of the two molecules, whether used alone or in combination with another product.
According to this work, among the control group (no treatment therefore), we deplore a mortality rate of 9.3%. On the other hand, those who have been given chloroquine alone have a mortality rate of 16.4%. The rate is even 22.2% for those who have been treated with chloroquine combined with a macrolide. Concerning the group having been treated with hydroxychloroquine alone, we note 18% of deaths and in patients who received hydroxychloroquine associated with a macrolide, the mortality rises to 23.8%.
By taking into account the mortality factors specific to each patient (age, sex, weight, existence of co-morbidities, severity of the disease during hospitalization, use of other additional treatments, area of residence, etc.), the scientists have created variables which demonstrate that taking these molecules, combined or not, generally increases the risk of mortality in Covid-19 patients. When patients who have received one of these treatments also have risk factors for Covid-19, the risk of mortality can reach 34 to 45%, scientists point out.
A risk of cardiac arrhythmia
They are also worried about an "increased frequency of cardiac arrhythmias" when chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are used to treat Covid-19. The risk is even greater when the molecules are combined with another product. If only 0.3% of patients in the control group have cardiac arrhythmias, up to 8% report it in those who have received one of the four treatments.
The authors of this article thus confirm that several studies on these two molecules - usually used to treat malaria or certain autoimmune diseases - have already demonstrated: when they are reused to treat victims of Covid-19, they can cause cardiotoxicity, especially in people with sensitive terrain.
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The researchers, who call on the scientific community to continue clinical trials on this use, conclude their work by stressing that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine "should not be used outside of clinical trials". In France and in Europe, the latter molecule is tested in several clinical trials, including the European Discovery trial. But the results are still slow to arrive.
