LSU Health in New Orleans enrolls first patient in hydroxychloroquine COVID-19 clinical trial Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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WE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE USE OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE. IT IS DENISE, AND SHE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW IT WORKS IN A COVID-19 PATIENT, AND WHILE WE’RE ON THIS TOPIC, COULD YOU ALSO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND CHLOROQUINE? DR. CLEMENT: YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE. THE DATA FROM HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND CHLOROQUINE FROM A LABORATORY IS PRETTY COMPELLING. WE THINK IT WORKS BECAUSE IT POTENTIALLY INHIBITS VIRAL REPLICATIONS, THE VIRUS MAKING COPIES OF ITSELF. WE THINK IT ALSO HAS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES, SO THAT MAY PLAY A ROLE, AS WELL. AS FAR AS THE FRANCE BETWEEN HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND CHLOROQUINE, THEY ARE ANALOGS OF EACH OTHER, SO IN LAYMAN’S TERMS, COUSINS, AND HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE HAS BEEN USED FOR SOME CONDITIONS. CHLOROQUINE, WE HAVE DECADES USING IT FOR MALARIA, SO THEY ARE VERY CLOSELY RELATED, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT IT, AS THEY MAY BE SIMILAR IN TREATING COVID-19. DR. HEBERT: SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS WHOLE QUESTION OF DOCTORS PRESCRIBING IT, THEY DO NOT WANT TO PRESCRIBE IT? WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHERE DO YOU FALL? DR. CLEMENT: NO, ABSOLUTELY, AND LET ME EMPHASIZE, WE DO NOT KNOW WHETHER IT WORKS. WE HAVE SOME POSITIONS THAT ARE SAYING THIS IS POTENTIALLY VERY HARMFUL, WHY ARE WE PRESCRIBING IT AT ALL, AND OTHER PHYSICIANS SAYING, WELL, WE THINK THE SIDE EFFECTS ARE MINOR, AND IF IT HAS ANY CHANCE OF WORKING, WE SHOULD BE PRESCRIBING IT, SO THAT IS WHY WE WANT TO DO THE TRIAL AT LSU, TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER IT IS WORKING OR NOT. WE ALL DO WORRY ABOUT SHORTAGES IN OUR PATIENTS. WE KNOW IT WORKS WITH PATIENTS WITH LUPUS AND ARTHRITIS, AND WE 100% DO NOT WANT TO RUN INTO SHORTAGES FOR THOSE PATIENTS DR. HEBERT: AND WE TALK ABOUT ADDING AZITHROMYCIN. PEOPLE USED TO ASK ME FOR A Z-PAK IF THEY HAD A COLD, AND IT USED TO DRIVE ME CRAZY, BUT NOW, PEOPLE ARE USING THIS COMBINATION, AND THERE MAY BE A REAL ISSUE OF PUTTING THOSE MEDICINES TOGETHER, AND PEOPLE ARE AT HOME, TRYING TO DO THIS, TO PREVENT GETTING THIS DISEASE. DR. CLEMENT: I REALLY WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS, ESPECIALLY NOT DOING IT AT HOME. THESE DRUGS TOGETHER COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE TOXICITY ON THE HEART, SO WE REALLY WOULD NOT SUGGEST THAT PEOPLE ARE USING THESE TWO DRUGS AT HOME IN COMBINATION. I WILL SAY THAT IN OUR STUDY, THAT WE ARE HOPEFULLY GOING TO START ENROLLING PEOPLE IN LATER THIS WEEK, ONE OF THE ARMS IS HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE VERSUS AZITHROMYCIN, BECAUSE WE THINK IT MIGHT WORK. THE FRENCH STUDY THAT SHOWED POTENTIAL FOR IT WAS A VERY, VERY SMALL STUDY WITH LIMITATIONS, SO WE REALLY JUST NEED TO WAIT AND SEE. DR. HEBERT: I UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT THINGS PEOPLE ARE DOING AT HOME BECAUSE THEY HEAR ALL OF THESE MYTHS, IT IS A DANGEROUS THING. DR. CLEMENT: OR YOU RUN INTO OVERDOSES OR TOXICITIES. DR. HEBERT: SO YOU HEARD THAT. DO NOT TRY TO GET HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND CPAC AND TAKE IT AT HOME ALONE. IT CAN CAUSE MAJOR PROBLEMS -- DO NOT TRY TO G

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