Hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin combo may be potentially lethal: Study
New Delhi: Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, which have been been proposed for treatment of COVID-19 patients, are a potentially lethal combination, and may have a serious impact on the cardiovascular system, according to a study.
The researchers, including those from Vanderbilt University and Stanford University in the US, carried out an observational, retrospective meta-analysis of a WHO database encompassing over 21 million adverse event case reports.
The reports span across all medication classes from over 130 countries between November 14, 1967, and March 1, 2020 -- mainly before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study, published in the journal Circulation, compared cardiovascular adverse-drug-reactions (CV-ADRs) in patients who received hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, or the combination of both medications with all other cardiovascular medications in the database.
Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, alone or in combination, have been proposed for treatment of COVID-19 patients, the researchers said.
They explained that reports of potentially lethal acute cardiac proarrhythmogenic effects -- promoting irregular heart rhythms -- have been described mainly with azithromycin but also with hydroxychloroquine.
Their combination yielded an even stronger signal, the scientists said.
Hydroxychloroquine was also associated with potentially lethal heart failure when exposure was prolonged over several months, according to the researchers.
From the more than 21 million case reports of adverse drug reactions, the researchers extracted case reports for hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, alone or in combination.
They found that 76,822 adverse event reports were associated with hydroxychloroquine alone, and in 28.4 per cent of those cases (21,808), the drug was suspected to be associated with the adverse event.
The study found that 89,692 adverse event reports were associated with azithromycin alone, and in 60.8 per cent of those cases (54,533), the medication was suspected to be associated with the adverse events.
The researchers said 607 adverse event reports were associated with the combination of both medications. Hydroxychloroquine was significantly associated with the development of conduction disorders, and heart failure, they said.
On Monday, the World Health Organization also suspended testing hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
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Rupee falls 21 paise to 91.29 against US dollar in early trade
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Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 21 paise to 91.29 against the US dollar on Monday, amid higher crude oil prices, a strong American currency and intense global volatility due to the escalated Middle East tension.
Negative equity market sentiment and massive withdrawal of foreign funds also weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.23 and declined further to 91.29 against the greenback in initial deals, trading 21 paise down from its previous closing level.
On Friday, the rupee lost 17 paise to settle at 91.08 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent higher at 97.78.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 3.91 per cent at 76.78 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts said that crude prices soared after the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran.
In the latest strike, the US and Israel forces pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country's ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships. The attack was intensified after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Experts say that India faces the risk of a sharp increase in its import bill with the rising crude prices in the international market as the country's 85 per cent fuel requirement is met through imports.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex tumbled 691.47 points or 0.85 per cent to 80,595.72, while Nifty tanked 240.95 points or 0.96 per cent to 24,937.70 in early trade.
On Friday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 7,536.36 crore, according to exchange data.
According to the government data released on Friday following a revamp of the GDP calculation framework, the country's economic growth has been projected at 7.6 per cent in the currency fiscal.
The latest RBI data released on Friday showed India's forex reserve dropped by USD 2.119 billion to USD 723.608 billion during the week ended February 20. The overall reserves had jumped by USD 8.663 billion to an all-time high of USD 725.727 billion in the previous reporting week.
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