Coronavirus: Combination of antimalarial medication and antibiotics could shorten COVID-19, researchers say
March 20, 2020 / By James Rogers | Fox News
A study in France suggests that treating COVID-19 patients with antimalarial medication and antibiotics could prove a useful weapon in the battle against the novel coronavirus.
Researchers prescribed the antimalarial hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to patients earlier this month, according to the research, which is published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.
“French Confirmed COVID-19 patients were included in a single arm protocol from early March to March 16th, to receive 600mg of hydroxychloroquine daily and their viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs was tested daily in a hospital setting,” the researchers wrote in an abstract. “Depending on their clinical presentation, azithromycin was added to the treatment.”
Untreated patients from another center and COVID-19 cases who refused the treatment were included as negative controls. “Presence and absence of virus at Day 6-post inclusion was considered the end point,” the researchers explained.
