Journal Updates

High-Dose CQ Linked with Death, Cardiac Events in COVID-19 Patients

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection administered high-dose chloroquine diphosphate (CQ) in association with azithromycin or oseltamivir experienced higher rates of death and adverse cardiac events compared with a low-dose group, suggested an unplanned interim analysis of a phase IIb trial.

Lethality until day 13 was higher in the high-dose group compared to the low-dose group (39% vs. 15%, respectively), with more patients in the high-dose group having QTc intervals of more than 500 milliseconds (18.9% vs 11.1%), reported researchers in JAMA Network Open.