COVID-19: French Hospital stops use of hydroxychloroquine in treatment

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, a French hospital has recently announced that it will immediately stop testing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on one patient due to severe cardiac side effects. As per reports, hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malaria drug that has been repeatedly endorsed by US President Donald Trump as a safe COVID-19 treatment.

Hydroxychloroquine causes cardiac symptoms

According to reports, the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 patients has been a hotly debated topic recently and was one of the many drugs being tested at the University Hospital Center of Nice. But when electrocardiogram readings suggested that the patient's heart was in jeopardy, the treatment was stopped.

As per reports, US President Donald Trump has dismissed the side effects of hydroxychloroquine through several media briefings while healthcare professionals have claimed that the drug's effectiveness against the coronavirus has not been tested enough.

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Swedish Hospitals stop using the drug

Several hospitals in Sweden have reportedly stopped the use of chloroquine in their treatment of coronavirus patients. According to reports, the anti-malarial medication that was being prescribed to coronavirus patients was causing adverse side effects. The side effects of chloroquine included cramps and the loss of peripheral vision among other things.

As per reports, a local Swedish newspaper revealed that a 40-year-old Stockholm resident, Carl Sydenhag, was prescribed two tablets of chloroquine daily. But instead of making him feel better, the medication began to have unintended side effects. Sydenhag began experiencing cramps as well as vision loss and severe migraines.

Currently, there are no specific drugs that can treat the deadly coronavirus but reportedly the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have become highly popular as a possible alternative in the absence of a vaccine. US President Donald Trump has also tweeted about how hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat the novel coronavirus and well as reporting that the US has already stockpiled 29 million pills. According to various reports, the drug’s effectiveness against the coronavirus has only so far shown mixed results.

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Coronavirus outbreak

After originating from China’s “wet markets”, the coronavirus has now claimed over 88,505 lives worldwide as of April 9. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 209 countries and has infected at least 1,518,783 people. Out of the total infections, 330,590 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling.