Michigan hospital study shows hydroxychloroquine cut death rates by half
STAFF REPORTS
A retrospective, peer-reviewed study by the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit found that hospitalized Covid-19 patients who received the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine early in their stay were half as likely to die as the control group, the nonprofit hospital announced Thursday. The study’s author, Dr. Marcus Zervos, attributed the results to the timing of patients receiving HCQ.
The Ford press release stated:
“In a large-scale retrospective analysis of 2,541 patients hospitalized between March 10 and May 2, 2020, across the system’s six hospitals, the study found 13% of those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone died compared to 26.4% not treated with hydroxychloroquine. None of the patients had documented serious heart abnormalities; however, patients were monitored for a heart condition routinely pointed to as a reason to avoid the drug as a treatment for COVID-19.”
That condition could result in a prolonged QT interval, something the Mayo Clinic addressed in a screening protocol earlier this year for hydroxychloroquine use for Covid-19.
The study’s authors are Zervos, division head of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System, and Henry Ford epidemiologist Dr. Samia Arshad. Their work was published Thursday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, the peer-reviewed, open-access online publication of the International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID.org).
“We attribute our findings that differ from other studies to early treatment, and part of a combination of interventions that were done in supportive care of patients, including careful cardiac monitoring,” Zervos said. “Our dosing also differed from other studies not showing a benefit of the drug. And other studies are either not peer reviewed, have limited numbers of patients, different patient populations or other differences from our patients.”
Read the press release from Ford Health System here.
The Henry Ford Health System is also conducting a study on the preventive effects of hydroxychloroquine in first responders. This type of study is called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylactic). The Ford study is called WHIP Covid-19, or “Will Hydroxychloroquine Impede or Prevent Covid-19.”
