Potential COVID-19 Drug Could Increase Heart Risk: Study
MONDAY, Sept. 21, 2020 -- The widely prescribed antibiotic azithromycin is being investigated as a COVID-19 treatment, but a new study warns it could increase the risk of heart problems. Researchers analyzed data from millions of patients (average... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - September 21, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: news

Potential COVID-19 drug azithromycin may increase risk for cardiac events
(University of Illinois at Chicago) Azithromycin -- a commonly-prescribed antibiotic -- also is being investigated as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Researchers have found that azithromycin by itself is not associated with an increase in cardiac events; however, if the drug is taken with certain other drugs that affect the electrical functioning of the heart, then cardiac events increased. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - September 16, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Azithromycin Fails to Help Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Azithromycin Fails to Help Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
The antibiotic azithromycin did not appear to provide any benefit to hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were having trouble breathing, according to a study in Brazil.Reuters Health Information (Source: Medscape Critical Care Headlines)
Source: Medscape Critical Care Headlines - September 14, 2020 Category: Intensive Care Tags: Infectious Diseases News Source Type: news

More about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, CEBM (updated 30th August 2020)
VERDICT The hypothesis that the 4-aminoquinolines chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine may be beneficial in the treatment of COVID-19 is a weak one, based on poor mechanistic reasoning and inconsistent results of studies in vitro, in laboratory animals, and in humans. It is likely that even if chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective in COVID-19, the beneficial effects will be small. The risks of adverse reactions to these drugs may be increased in patients who are acutely ill with severe COVID-19, in many of whom high doses are being used. Macrolide antibacterial drugs, such as azithromycin, clarithromycin, ery...
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - September 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin increases heart risk, finds global study
(Columbia University Irving Medical Center) In the largest observational study of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, the drug combination has been linked to significant cardiovascular risks, including death. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - August 25, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

' Doubling Down' on Hydroxychloroquine QT Prolongation in COVID-19'Doubling Down' on Hydroxychloroquine QT Prolongation in COVID-19
Patients had progressively longer QT intervals with hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin but also frequently received other drugs that had QT-prolonging effects in a new study.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery Headlines)
Source: Medscape Neurology and Neurosurgery Headlines - August 7, 2020 Category: Neurology Tags: Cardiology News Source Type: news

February to March 2020 Saw Surge in Hydroxychloroquine Rx
WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2020 -- From February to March 2020, there was a considerable increase in the number of patients receiving outpatient prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and azithromycin, according to a research letter published... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - July 8, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

US hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin outpatient prescriptions October 2019-March 2020
(JAMA Network) How the prescription of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to outpatients has changed in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic is examined in this study. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - July 6, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Study: Azithromycin doubles risk for cardiovascular death versus amoxicillin
People who take the commonly prescribed antibiotic azithromycin were nearly twice as likely to die from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event than users of amoxicillin, a study found. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)
Source: Health News - UPI.com - June 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

CVD, Non-CVD Mortality Increased With Azithromycin Use
WEDNESDAY, June 17, 2020 -- Outpatient azithromycin use is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality, according to a study published online June 17 in JAMA Network Open. Jonathan G. Zaroff, M.D., from... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - June 17, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

COVID-19 news from Annals of Internal Medicine
(American College of Physicians) Update Alert: Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19? Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - June 17, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

U.K. Researchers Say They Have Found First Drug that Improves COVID-19 Survival
Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A steroid called dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients. Results were announced Tuesday and researchers said they would publish them soon. The study is a large, strict test that randomly assigned 2,104 patients to get the drug and compared them with 4,321 patients getting only usual care. The drug was given either orally or through an IV. It reduced deaths by 35% in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines and by 20% in those only needing supplemental oxygen. It did ...
Source: TIME: Science - June 16, 2020 Category: Science Authors: MARILYNN MARCHIONE /AP Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

More evidence of no survival benefit in COVID-19 patients receiving hydroxychloroquine
(Cell Press) A study of electronic medical records from US Veterans Health Administration medical centers has found that hydroxychloroquine -- with or without azithromycin -- did not reduce the risk of ventilation or death and was associated with longer length of hospital stay. This analysis, published June 5 in the journal Med, is the first in the US to report data on hydroxychloroquine outcomes for COVID-19 from a nationwide integrated health system. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - June 5, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

First do no harm -- researchers urge halt in prescribing hydroxycholoroquine for COVID-19
(Florida Atlantic University) Researchers urge a moratorium on prescribing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, with or without azithromycin, to treat or prevent COVID-19, and caution that the reassuring safety profile of hydroxychloroquine may be more apparent than real. Safety data derive from decades of prescriptions by clinicians, primarily for their patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, both of which are of greater prevalence in younger and middle age women, who are at very low risk of fatal heart outcomes due to hydroxychloroquine. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - June 3, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news