Treatment of Covid patients in England

[LilacTree1]

Does anyone know if UK patients are being treated with Hydroxychloroquine?

I’m getting the impression that newer drugs with less data, are favoured. But I’m not sure.

I've no idea, Lilac. Why do you ask? Not quite sure malaria treatments are top of medication lists in Covid-19 wards. I'd say it was more at Tropical disease hospitals.

I suspect not. It's most effective for Covid when given early and we're not treating early. Unless things have changed very recently? By early I mean before hospital stage.

Still it's good news if we've started to use any drugs. There's no miracle cure but treatment, particularly if early, has helped in many cases worldwide. The aim is to prevent things progressing to a more serious stage.

My GP surgery is taking part in study with Hydroxychloroquine. Anyone with vulnerable condition or over65 will be able to take part. They want to start treatment early so asking patients to test with any symptoms and with their consent will be start treatment if positive.

Toffee “ It's most effective for Covid when given early and we're not treating early”

Ah, that’ll be it. I was talking to a friend of my folks, a retired GP. She thinks GPs should be seeing patients and giving this. She’s worried people are getting very ill and then going to hospital because it’s gone that far.

She was an adviser at LSHTM so I do see there’s bound to be a bias towards a drug she’s seen success with.

X post

Oral, that’s interesting

I agree with your friend Lilac
That's very good news oral
Fingers crossed the trial goes well and can be rolled out across the UK.
I understood there was a supply issue for all the potential deug treatments. Worldwide shortage. But that was a couple of months ago. Hopefully more have been manufactured by now.

*drug

She was more concerned about GP attitudes

She said if you go into that and you’re not prepared to deal with infectious disease, WTAF. She feels strongly that her generation of GPs were different,

I did point out that this set were probably issued with a lot of rules and we have no idea of some are furious and want to work more in the community but don’t feel able to speak out.

Did you just read about Trump?

No

Please don’t tell he’s banned it because it’s not making any money....

No, he is taking it!

Oh really?
That makes sense. Evidence indicates it has a prophylactic effect. Taking it could prevent you from catching it in the first place. I believe India is giving it to HCP for that reason.

It won't make much money for the drugs companies. It's years out of patent.

Just looked it up

I think better that than what I was expecting!

Not on the ward I know about

It is being given as part of the Solidarity research trials in hospitals nationwide... not actively as treatment yet .

The research trials started last month.

OP im very concerned a retired GP thinks it should be given out for something its not had any research into !!
( fellow HCP)

Souls - she’s 85. My late father used to tell me she stopped reading medical stuff at 60. They used to row about it

I see there’s hugely different opinions.

It's not about 'opinions'. Patients shouldn't be given medicines with no evidence base to treat covid except as part of a trial. Because if it worked there would be no recorded data to prove it. Hydroxychloroquine is one of the arms in the Recovery Trial, it's being used in many hospitals but must be as part of a clinical trial.

I just came out hospital in intensive care they are trialing a drug used for ebola in some hospital s fantastic results

Ffs why does everyone get so snotty?

Medical opinions exist. I can’t do anything about that.

Surely the prescription would be the recorded data?

What's the point of only trialling it in hospitals when all the evidence (from around the world) suggests it's most effective when given before hospital stage.

That's very good news about remdesivir SANDY2016 I assume that's the drug you're talking about. It was as originally developed as a potential ebola treatment.

@LilacTree1 If that was aimed at me, I'm not being snotty. Simply telling you it isn't a matter of opinion, it is a fact that hydroxychloroquine cannot be prescribed outwith clinical trials. You asked!

@ToffeeYoghurt prescriptions would record who had received a medicine but not outcomes. There are departments dedicated to trials and research, there's a huge amount of work going into this. It's not a case of random doctors taking it upon themselves to try something out. And someone said upthread they are trialling it in primary care. I work in secondary care so can only speak for myself.

The real problem is there isn't enough to go around. All the potential drug treatments.
Billions worldwide might need these drugs.
Hopefully more are being produced but it won't happen overnight.

MRHA instruction not to use hydroxychloroquine outside of clinical trials here