Researchers Denied Trump's Statement About The Efficacy Of Hydroxychloroquine

Presiden AS Donald Trump (Instagram/@realdonaldtrump)

JAKARTA - After undergoing two tests, the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump tested negative for COVID-19. During a briefing at the White House on Saturday, April 11, Trump stated that he might take the drug hydroxychloroquine to fight COVID-19. He said, the drug has a protective effect against the new corona virus. However, researchers refute Trump's statement.

On that occasion, Trump also recommended that people take hydroxychloroquine, like himself. "I think people should (take hydroxychloroquine)," he said Trump, quoted by CNN, Monday, April 13.

"If it was me, in fact, I would still do it. I can take it ... I have to ask my doctor about it. But, maybe I will take it," Trump added.

Trump said lupus patients who often receive treatment with the drug hydroxychloroquine have a lower risk of contracting COVID-19. Trump even mentioned research on the matter, even if it was just a rumor. "Maybe that's true, maybe not. Why not investigate the truth?"

Photo illustration of Trump at the White House (Instagram / @ realdonaldtrump)

Not recommended by experts

At that briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert explained that his party did not have definite information to comment on. Fauci added that the relationship between lupus and COVID-19 is currently being investigated.

Experts do not recommend the use of hydroxychloroquine as a prevention for COVID-19 because there is no evidence that the drug can ward off COVID-19. "We need evidence and science, not fear and anxiety to drive this decision," said Dr. Saira Sheikh, director of the Clinical Trials Research Program at the University of North Carolina.

In addition, according to experts, hydroxychloroquine can also cause side effects and can be harmful to healthy people if used inappropriately without proper indications, prescription or monitoring.

Hydroxychloroquine is generally considered safe but side effects do exist, according to Dr. Jeffrey Sparks, a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Side effects include changes in heart rhythm, which can cause sudden death, severe rash, and dangerous allergic reactions. "I think it's too early to really support its wide use. I myself will not endorse it," said Sparks.

As a treatment for COVID-19, there has also not been much research on hydroxychloroquine. There are no randomized controlled trials and most of the data on patients have been extrapolated from small, single-center studies. While there is no conclusive evidence at this point that this drug works for COVID-19 patients, doctors have seen the impact Trump's support for the drug can have on its use against the coronavirus.

Sparks said some of his rheumatology patients had to look for hydroxychloroquine in various countries as the drug became scarce.

"The impact of President Trump's comments will confuse patients who need hydroxychloroquine to control their disease," said Dr. Alfred Kim, assistant professor of medicine and rheumatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Petersburg Louis.

"The patient population that is most vulnerable is lupus patients because hydroxychloroquine is the only drug known to prolong the survival of these patients," he said.

Dr Alfred Kim also said that no published research specifically looked at the relationship between lupus patients to hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19.

One thing Dr Kim found was a sentence in a non-peer-reviewed study of researchers in Wuhan, China, who said they had no lupus patients infected with COVID-19 in their follow-up survey. They did not indicate whether these lupus patients were included in the original study, which looked at the efficacy of the hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19.

He added that none of the data in the study supported Trump's claims and that this study was not intended to evaluate lupus and COVID-19, only hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 in general.