FDA Tells Healthcare Providers: Stop Treating COVID-19 Outpatients with Malaria Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued a safety warning to healthcare providers, instructing them to stop prescribing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to people with COVID-19 being treated on an outpatient basis. The health regulator cited reports of serious heart rhythm problems among coronavirus patients who had been treated with the drugs, which were originally used to fight malaria, a parasitic disease.
The two drugs in question are synthetic analogs of quinine, a compound that was extracted from tree bark and used as an antimalarial for centuries. More recently, quinine analogs have been shown to provide a variety of benefits beyond parasite prophylaxis, mainly as treatments for lupus and other serious autoimmune disorders.
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Source Fool.com
