Spoiler alert
This article addresses a medical and political hot potato, namely studies on the safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). It does not presume to comment on its efficacy as an antiviral. Reasons for topic selection are threefold: members have asked about the issue, it remains very germane, and it piqued my own interest after having come across some medical literature. Our club is blessed with a smart membership that can think independently and this is offered with respect for your consideration. As an aside, this is not my area of medicine but I have been fortunate to have written a number of medical articles and book chapters to the literature and know my way around PubMed and literature searches.
Your Fleet Sturgeon’s short answers based on available literature:
1. Is hydroxychloroquine safe? Short answer: yes, based upon years of experience and recommendations/reviews by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1,2 The WHO has it on its list of essential medicines as well. 3 2. Some COVID studies have shown toxicity of HCQ; were these studies well–done? It turns out that some of these appear to have been designed to show side effects of hydroxychloroquine. 4,5 3. Cardiac concerns (discussed below) are the main issue and patients should avoid higher doses used in some studies.
Anchorlines, June/July 2022
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