Study that claimed HCQ for treating Covid was 'dangerous' might be fraudulent

Following questions raised by researchers regarding its study on hydroxychloroquine, British medical journal The Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine have issued an Expression of Concern.

An article was published on the journals, that found hydroxychloroquine increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients. Both of the studies relied on an analysis of patient outcomes from a private database run by a company called Surgisphere.

The company said it has information about nearly 100,000 Covid-19 patients from 1,200 hospitals and other health facilities on six continents.

Following the study, the World Health Organization (WHO) suspended its use in a large trial on COVID-19 patients.The governments of France, Italy and Belgium too halted the use of hydroxychloroquine.

Recently, nearly 150 doctors signed an open letter to the Lancet calling its article’s conclusions into question and asking to make public the peer review comments that preceded publication.

They raised questions regarding the astonishing number of patients involved and details about their demographics.

Surgisphere too has released a statement saying that the audit will bring further transparency to its work and further highlight the quality of work.

In March, US President Donald Trump said hydroxychloroquine used in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin had 'a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine'.

The president said he himself took the drugs after two people who worked at the White House tested positive for coronavirus.