Drug vignettes: Azithromycin, CEBM
Azithromycin is a macrolide antibacterial drug, derived from erythromycin, licensed in the USA and in the UK, and used to treat bacterial infections. It has been used in combination with hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. However, there is an adverse drug –drug interaction between the two, which contraindicates their combined use. (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - May 14, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: G Medical VSMS ECG Patch
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Published: 5/14/2020. This three-page fact sheet informs healthcare providers of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the G Medical VSMS ECG Patch. The VSMS Patch is authorized for emergency use in the hospital setting for remote monitoring of the QT interval of an electrocardiogram (ECG) in general care (i.e., not in the intensive care unit) patients who are 18 years of age or older and are undergoing treatment for COVID-19 using drugs that can prolong the QT intervals and may cause life-threatening arrhythmias ( e.g., hydroxychlor...
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - May 14, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

ACTG launches clinical trial testing treatment for COVID-19
(University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences) The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) has initiated a clinical trial to evaluate whether the drug combination hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19 (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 14, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat COVID-19
(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring the trial, which is being conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Teva Pharmaceuticals is donating medications for the study. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 14, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Zinc might boost effectiveness of malaria drug against COVID-19, experts say
Adding zinc to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin might help the drug combination resolve some of the symptoms of COVID-19, a study posted online this week said. (Source: Health News - UPI.com)
Source: Health News - UPI.com - May 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Addition of Zinc May Benefit Some Being Treated for COVID - 19
Some outcomes improved with addition of zinc sulfate to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin (Source: Pulmonary Medicine News - Doctors Lounge)
Source: Pulmonary Medicine News - Doctors Lounge - May 13, 2020 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Infections, Nursing, Pharmacy, Pulmonology, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Journal, Source Type: news

Addition of Zinc May Benefit Some Being Treated for COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 -- For hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the addition of zinc sulfate to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may improve some outcomes, according to a study not yet peer reviewed and posted on medRxiv.org. Philip M.... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - May 13, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

COVID-19 news from Annals of Internal Medicine
(American College of Physicians) ACP: Evidence does not support the use of hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin for prophylaxis or treatment of COVID-19. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 13, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

University of Kentucky launches clinical trial to evaluate new COVID-19 treatments
(University of Kentucky) The trial will investigate the effectiveness of azithromycin, ivermectin and camostat mesylate--drugs that could inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. The three will be tested either as stand-alone therapies or in combination with the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 11, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

TGen and HonorHealth initiate COVID-19 combination therapy of atovaquone and azithromycin
(The Translational Genomics Research Institute) The HonorHealth Research Institute and HonorHealth announced today the successful enrollment on a novel combination of atovaquone and azithromycin in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection. The clinical trial, conducted in collaboration with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, is funded as an investigator-initiated clinical trial by HonorHealth Research Institute. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 6, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: PhysiolGuard ECG-QT Analysis System
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Published: 5/5/2020. This four-page fact sheet informs healthcare providers of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the PhysiolGuard ECG-QT Analysis System when used in the hospital setting for remote monitoring and detection of changes in the QT interval of an electrocardiogram (ECG) in general care (i.e., not in the intensive care unit) patients who are 18 years of age or older and are undergoing treatment for COVID-19 drugs that can prolong QT intervals and may cause life threatening arrhythmias (e.g., hydroxychloroquine or chlor...
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - May 5, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Assessment of QT intervals in case series of patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin
(JAMA Network) Case series assesses QT intervals for French patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treated with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 1, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

QT interval prolongation, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin in hospitalized patients with COVID-19
(JAMA Network) This observational study examines the association of hydroxychloroquine or hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin with QT prolongation in adult patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - May 1, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Hydroxychloroquine linked to increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias
(Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) In a brief report published today in JAMA Cardiology, a team of pharmacists and clinicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, found evidence suggesting that patients who received hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 were at increased risk of electrical changes to the heart and cardiac arrhythmias. The combination of hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin was linked to even greater changes compared to hydroxychloroquine alone. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - May 1, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

What is the evidence for use of macrolide antibiotics for treatment of COVID-19?, CEBM
We identified three studies, two in vitro and one in vivo, assessing the use of macrolide antibiotics for the treatment of COVID-19. Each of these studies assessed treatment with azithromycin. The evidence from the in vivo study and one in vitro study suggest a possible synergy between azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine. However, the in vivo study had a small number of participants and was methodologically flawed; the findings must therefore be treated with caution. The two in vitro studies provided conflicting results regarding the activity of azithromycin alone against SARS-CoV-2; one found that azithromycin alone had a...
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news