Paper 1
Source: First10EM
Title: Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial.
Author: Gautret P,
Publication date: March 20, 2020
Journal: International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.
Goal: This is an observational study of patients 12 years and older with documented COVID-19 admitted to a single hospital in France, with a control group from other hospitals around France.
Methods: Patients in the primary centre with rather mild disease were treated with hydroxychloroquine. Patients in the control centres did not. The authors originally enrolled 42 patients. However, 6 were excluded from the main site, mostly because of death or transfer to the ICU, while no patients were excluded from the controls.
Results: Viral clearance on day 6 occured in 70% of the treatment group and 13% of the controls (p=0.001)
Conclusion: Due to profound methodological flaws this paper does not provide any evidence for treatment of COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine
Chloroquine for COVID: No good evidence yet