The Health Department says it does not recommend the use of the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment. And, says an IoL report, at least two major hospital groups agree with the department on their stance.
US President Donald Trump is a fan of the drug, despite US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Dr Anthony Fauci warning about the effects of using the drug as a COVID-19 treatment. Fauci has consistently argued that valid scientific data shows the drug is not effective in treating the novel coronavirus.
Popo Maja, a spokesperson for the Health Department, said South Africa has never recommended hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, but it had been used as a clinical trial under conditions where patients were carefully monitored for any adverse effects. “The National Department of Health regularly reviews evidence from clinical trials and adjusts guidelines accordingly,” it said.
The department, however, did advocate for the use of dexamethasone, which it said had reduced mortality rates among patients who were severely infected with COVID-19.
Dr Anchen Laubscher, Netcare’s group medical director, said doctors who practised at their facilities were independent practitioners who had the responsibility to make clinical decisions regarding the treatment of COVID-19 patients. However, said Laubscher, the Netcare Group had designed an observational study and obtained ethics approval, in line with recommendations (NDoH) to ensure that any therapeutics used for the treatment of COVID-19 infections were in line with the Monitored Emergency Use of UnRegistered Interventions (MEURI) framework as set out by World Health Organisation (WHO).
Meanwhile, at the Life Healthcare Group, Dr Charl van Loggerenberg, the GM for emergency medicine, said the hospital had taken a decision not to dispense chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as a form of COVID-19 treatment. “In April 2020, Life Healthcare took a decision not to dispense chloroquine as a form of COVID-19 prophylaxis unless on the recommendation of a multidisciplinary team treating a critically ill COVID-19 patient.
“The decision is evidence based as per the South African NICD (National Institute for Communicable Diseases) guidelines and still stands.”
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/sa-hospitals-stance-on-the-controversial-hydroxychloroquine-drug-as-covid-19-treatment-64ec87fc-6821-4b31-b631-d427b37919ac"]Full IoL report[/link]