In recent weeks, the United States' President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic. His embrace of the drug, which he claims to be taking daily, resulted in an uproar across multiple media platforms. The publicity surrounding the drug has reportedly interfered with scientific research into whether it works in preventing or treating the virus.

What is Hydroxychloroquine?

The anti-malaria drug was developed to prevent and treat malaria. The medication is also widely used to treat auto-immune diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It helps reduce skin problems caused by lupus and prevent inflammation caused by arthritis.

The medication may induce side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, or headache. Serious side effects may include slow heartbeat, symptoms related to heart failure, mental changes, easy bruising, signs of liver disease, hair loss, and skin color changes.

Hampered Opportunity

Dr Jon Giles, an epidemiologist and rheumatologist at Columbia University, said they were now experiencing difficulties in finding people willing to enrol in the hydroxychloroquine trials. According to the researcher, many of the potential participants cite the ongoing political wrangling on the drug.

In March, lupus patients were having difficulties filling out their prescriptions due to the massive demand for the anti-malaria drug.

In April, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about ingesting the drug without proper medical supervision in a hospital or trial. The federal agency revealed they received reports of severe heart-related events and deaths in coronavirus patients who were treated with the anti-malaria drug.

The political clash has led many participants to back out in fear, even if it is done in a carefully run clinical trial. "It became almost impossible to get anyone interested," Giles said.

Other researchers such as Dr Deneen Vojta of the United Health Group also reported a depressing enrollment in their clinical trials. Members of different research groups drafted a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association where they complained that the negative media coverage of the drug had affected the drop in enrollment in trials run by several American institutions.

COVID-19 Treatment

According to recent studies, the drug has shown no benefit for COVID-19 patients; some say they may have contributed to several deaths.

A small study in Brazil was suspended after patients started developing irregular heart rates that could potentially develop into fatal heart arrhythmia. The clinical trial involved 81 hospitalized patients in Manaus. According to the findings, the patients who received a higher dosage developed arrhythmias within three days. On the sixth day, 11 had died.

In the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers analyzed the outcomes of over 1,370 patients of whom more than half received dosages of hydroxychloroquine. More than 32 percent of the hydroxychloroquine-treated patients experienced intubation or death.

The researchers concluded that there was no significant difference in risk for the endpoint. The results of the studies conducted in the United States were supported by trials conducted at 16 centers in China. Findings from a study performed in France also supported the lack of benefit the drug has for people infected with COVID-19.

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