In particular, the cardiac aspects are serious. Anyone with an arrythmia like atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFl) is more susceptible to bad stuff.

Chloroquine, and also Z-pack (which some trials are using together) both have the tendency to cause "QT prolongation" (lengthening the duration of the Q-R-S-T) portion of the cardiac cycle. Excessive lengthening can lead to a rhythm called "Torsade de pointes" that can be fatal unless treated immediately.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsades_de_pointes

Many patients with AF or AFl are already on rhythm control drugs that can also prolong QT unless they are always dosed and administered correctly.

The combination of all 3 (chloroquine, Z-pack, and an antiarrythmic) is classified as an extremely MAJOR interaction risk.

In general, most docs now know this, and the study-related articles I've seen also reflect this, but there are cases where it could slip through the cracks.


Tpap is correct about the length of clinical trials. Nothing is likely to be "definitively good" any time soon. When you're breaking new ground, the trend is for anecdotal evidence and "related evidence" to provide ideas for clinical trials, and that's pretty much where we are now.

As of last night, the WHO website listed 306 trials getting underway to address COVID-19. Some sound pretty whack, but at least they're running in parallel and may yield useful results faster than a serial approach.

I would go deep with a Hail Mary if I were that deep in the woods.


Edited: 04/06/2020 at 02:16 PM by RegularJoe