| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| UW Medicine to conduct clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine with COVID patients |
| 2020-04-25 |
| Geek Wire via Instapundit The University of Washington School of Medicine is looking for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to participate in a clinical trial aimed at finding out whether a controversial drug called hydroxychloroquine can keep them from having to be hospitalized. Word of UW Medicine’s clinical trial comes after reports about a study at Veterans Health Administration medical centers in which COVID-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine, which is typically used to treat malaria and autoimmune disease, died at higher rates than those who didn’t take the drug. Today, the Food and Drug Administration warned that hydroxychloroquine carries "known risks" of potentially deadly heart complications — and said the drug should be used in supervised settings such as clinical trials, where the risks can be better studied and mitigated. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ study involved patients who were being hospitalized for COVID-19. UW Medicine’s study, in contrast, will focus on patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 but aren’t sick enough to be in a hospital. The new study will be randomized, unlike the VA study, which should lead to more reliable results. "We are recruiting patients with recently diagnosed COVID infection and hope to show whether early treatment can keep them from having to be admitted to the hospital," co-principal investigator Christine Johnston, an associate professor of medicine at UW, said today in a news release. "We are studying whether the early treatment of COVID-19 prevents viral pneumonia and also seeing if the medications decrease viral shedding, which could have a potential benefit of reduced transmission of COVID-19." The trial will gauge the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as well as a combination of the drug with azithromycin, an antibiotic. Two cohorts of outpatients will be enrolled in the trial, in high-risk and low-risk categories. Patients who are older than 60 or have underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity or lung problems are considered high-risk. Patients who are aged 18 through 59 without such conditions are considered low-risk. Coronavirus Live Updates: The latest COVID-19 developments in Seattle and the world of tech More than 600 patients in all will be enrolled at sites across the country, including UW as well as medical facilities in Boston, New Orleans, Chicago and Syracuse, N.Y. ...The $5.8 million trial is funded by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, an initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard, with support from an array of public and philanthropic donors. No doubt all part of the Gate's nefarious plot to take over the World |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #5 I called my VA doctor and asked him about this 'study'. He said "don't you start! I can't talk about it, but don't go there." He was very frustrated, but not annoyed at me. It was funny. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2020-04-25 13:19 |
| #4 It's UW not VA. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-04-25 13:18 |
| #3 No doubt all part of the Gate's nefarious plot to take over the World Depends if it's run like the VA study. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2020-04-25 13:16 |
| #2 After Gilead's so-called "flop", HCQ isn't so anecdotal anymore, is it, Bill? But, you can keep your microchips. In fact, I hope you choke on 'em. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-04-25 11:10 |
| #1 Who is dumb enough that they want to be part of the control group? |
| Posted by: gorb 2020-04-25 10:36 |