Panama University plans study of Trump-hyped drug

The University of Panama Medical School plans a  clinical study of the drug, hydroxychloroquine, hyped by President Trump and used in the country under medical criteria and with the consent of the patient. 

The  World Health Organization (WHO) states that drugs such as hydroxychloroquine (alone or in combination with azithromycin), should be used in the framework of research, in the context of randomized clinical trials that evaluate their safety and efficacy.

However  preliminary results from the WHO Solidarity study, which evaluates the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and other drugs for Covid-19, show that they do not reduce mortality on caused by SARS-COV 2, he said.

He added that the results of the study have not yet been published and we must wait for full knowledge of it to give a more sustained opinion.

However, he pointed out, the results show that in hospitalized patients there were no effects on overall mortality, onset of ventilation, and length of hospital stay using these drugs.

He stressed that antivirals act in an early stage of the disease by inhibiting entry, duplication, or other viral processes and that these patients in the Solidaridad study were in a more advanced stage of the disease.