Source: Renascenca
The Director-General of Health stresses that national and international institutions continue to monitor the “evolution of the use of this medicine worldwide and are adjusting their recommendations accordingly.”
The director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, says that in Portugal there is no record of adverse reactions to the drug hydroxychloroquine, which can be used in patients with Covid-19.
“It is a medication that should be used according to its indications, always thinking about what is weighed when making a clinical prescription, which are the risks and benefits. The decision to use is a medical decision and we know, through Infarmed, that to date in Portugal no adverse reactions have been reported within the scope of the drug surveillance system, ”said Graça Freitas at a press conference.
The Director-General of Health stresses that national and international institutions continue to monitor the “evolution of the use of this medicine worldwide and are adjusting their recommendations accordingly.”
Hydroxochloroquine is an antiviral medicine, used to treat malaria, but which is also being used in patients with Covid-19.
Speaking to Renascença on March 27, the president of the Ordem dos Médicos defended that antivirals , such as hydroxochloroquine, have had positive effects on the recovery of patients with Covid-19 and can avoid the need for intensive care in the most severe cases.
Miguel Guimarães commented on the rule of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), which allows the use of some antivirals, such as hydroxochloroquine, a drug indicated for the treatment of chloroquine-derived malaria , in the fight against the new coronavirus.
“Apparently, hydroxochloroquine has positive effects on infected patients. On the one hand, in recovery, on the other, preventing the aggravation of more complicated cases of hospitalization, which may require assisted ventilation, that is, going to intensive care ”. The reading is by the president of the Portuguese Medical Association , who agrees with the decision of the DGS to regulate antiviral therapies in patients admitted with Covid-19.
