A new study published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet found that Covid-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were more likely to die or develop dangerous heart arrhythmias, CNN reports.
Researchers looked at data from more than 96,000 Covid-19 patients from 671 hospitals. All were hospitalized from late December to mid-April and had died or been discharged by April 21. Just below 15,000 were treated with the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, or one of those drugs combined with an antibiotic. Those treatments were linked with a higher risk of dying in the hospital.
About 1 in 4 patients treated with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine died in the hospital, the study found, according to CNN.
Donald Trump has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential coronavirus cure. Earlier this week he claimed he was taking daily doses of it as a prophylaxis to prevent infection.
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“A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it,” Trump said. He said he started taking it after consulting the White House doctor, though he didn’t say his physician had actually recommended the drug.
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