'No miraculous recovery': Some ICU doctors say hydroxychloroquine isn't helping sickest patients
Many doctors suspect that if the drug does turn out to be beneficial, it may work better early on in the course of the illness.
April 8, 2020, 11:24 AM EDT
By Erika Edwards
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Antiviral treatments work by reducing the amount of virus in the body. They're best given early on, as symptoms are starting and the viral load is still low. For example, Tamiflu, an antiviral used to treat the flu, works better the earlier a person takes it.
"When you give it to somebody who is already super sick, it's likely not going to make an impact because the damage is already done," said Dr. Ken Lyn-Kew, a pulmonologist in the critical care department at National Jewish Health, a hospital in Denver.
At least anecdotally, a handful of critical care physicians across the country have told NBC News they've seen no evidence the drug is helping their sickest patients in intensive care.
"We've been using it," said Dr. Hugh Cassiere, a pulmonologist and medical director of Respiratory Care Services at North Shore University Hospital in Long Island, New York, a hot spot for the pandemic in the United States. "But we really haven't seen any efficacy."
"I'm not convinced it works," said Lyn-Kew, adding, "I've not seen anybody have anything near what I would call a miraculous recovery because of hydroxychloroquine."
In Louisiana, Dr. Josh Denson, a pulmonary medicine and critical care physician at the Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans, said that "many patients do fine and tolerate it, but I don't think it's making a difference."
"We're using it; it's all we have," Denson added. Louisiana has also been hit hard by the coronavirus, with at least 16,284 cases and 582 deaths.
"I can't honestly say that I think that it's necessarily an effective agent at this point," said Diaz, of the Providence Regional Medical Center in Washington state. Diaz was involved in the treatment of the first patient in the U.S. diagnosed with the coronavirus.
more:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/no-miraculous-recovery-some-icu-doctors-say-hydroxychloroquine-isn-t-n1177556?cid=eml_nbn_20200408
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