Source: Critica
A team of Panamanian infectologists has recommended to the National Government to resume a treatment for Covid-19 patients based on a combination of the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with the antibiotic azithromycin (AZ).
The physicians are based on recent data that shows that the early use of HCQ + AZ is associated with a reduction in mortality from Covid-19, and also with a reduction in patient admissions to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).Advertising
Another reason to opt for this alternative, they say, is that it is very possible that Redemsivir, a drug that has been shown to reduce the clinical recovery time of patients with Covid-19, is not available in Panama.
The recommendation was sent to Dr. Enrique Mendoza, a member of the Advisory Council of the National Government to combat Covid-19, and also Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama.
The document bears the signatures of Guy De La Rosa, a Panamanian infectologist based in Boston; and infectologists who work at the Metropolitan Hospital Complex of the Social Security Fund, and the Santo Tomás Hospital. These are doctors Alfredo Cantón, Eira García, Darío Flores, Rafael González, Boris Castillo and Rigoberto Samaniego.
“The reinstatement of HCQ + AZ-based treatment as part of the therapeutic armamentarium available to treating doctors in the Republic of Panama represents a vital step from the point of view of managing patients in the early stage of COVID-19,” they highlight.
HCQ is an antimalarial and immunomodulatory medication that has become controversial since the President of the United States, Donald Trump, advertised it for free and admits that it is taken to prevent Covid-19. Another person taking HCQ is Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive for Covid yesterday.
Infectologists cite three studies, one in patients with Covid in Michigan (USA), one in Columbia (USA) and the last one in Marseille (France). All studies pointed to reductions in average length of hospital stay, mortality, and ICU admissions.
“To date, only 2 drugs have shown a significant reduction in mortality in patients with COVID-19: dexamethasone (or the like) and hydroxychloroquine,” they add. “The clinical experience of adult physicians in Panama regarding the use of HCQ + AZ for the treatment of COVID-19 is extensive and supports both the effectiveness and the safety profile of that drug.”
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