In the last 48-hours, there have been multiple reports warning the public about the medicines being tested as possible treatments for COVID-19. See below:
- Chloroquine treats malaria: Will it work against coronavirus? The side effects are risky, experts say
- AZ Couple took chloroquine phosphate – Man died; Woman in ICU
- Virus Drug Touted by Trump, Musk Can Kill With Just Two Gram Dose
- Which Covid-19 drugs work ? The first medical reports are in, but there’s no silver bullet for coronavirus infection yet.
At this time, there is no drug treatment that has been found to be effective in patients with COVID-19 and none has been approved by regulatory agencies to treat COVID-19. Several antivirals (including favipiravir, remdesivir, umifenovir and lopinavir/ritonavir) and antiinflammatory drugs (azithromycin) and antimalarials (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine) are now being tested in clinical research for their potential benefit. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin) are known to prolong QTc and can cause potentially lethal arrhythmias (TdP). The combination of lopinavir and ritonavir is known to cause QT prolongation and is being followed to see if it also is associated with TdP arrhythmias.