Thread by @kurteichenwald

We all know Trump will say the Lancet study on hydrochloroquine with a large number of patients is a fraud by his enemies - (sos, people who dedicated their lives to saving people suddenly prefer to kill them all because Trump. What a moron). So let's go over the study.../1

...I spoke to a cardiologist about it, and his response was "that hyrdochloroquine causes a higher incidence of death in COVID patients is hardly a surprise" and then explained why. I will give what he said.

First, the study. The controls on it are.../2

thelancet.com/journals/lance…

...very strong.

But let's start with anecdote. Anecdote is meaningless. If 80% of the COVID patients recover without requiring ICU, then a minimum of 80% of the people taking hydro would rue expected to recover. Same as if they were chewing gum or drinking water. That is.../3

...why anecdote - which Trump uses to justify the use of hydro - is extremely dangerous when applied to medical treatments.

Also, its dangerous to just say "Here's a bunch of people, some who took hydro, some who didn't. More people on hydro died." There HAVE to be controls.../4

...to make sure youre starting from same baseline. (If you just look at raw numbers, you could be seeing results when hydro was only given to sickest patients, who are more likely to die.)

That is why the first thing to read in a study is how it was done, not its results.../5

...and as I said, the controls in this study are quite extensive and statistically complex. It controlled for age, sex, race or ethnicity, BMI, underlying cardiovascular disease, diabetes, underlying lung disease, smoking, immunosuppressed condition, and disease severity.../6

...this means when the researchers are looking at those on hydro, on hydro with a macrolide (a class of antibiotics that has been suggested to improve outcomes on COVID,) chloroquine (another immunosuppressant like hydro), chloroformed with macrolide, and those with nothing.../7

...multiple research studies have shows than none of these combinations causes more than the 80% of cases that would be better anyway to be better, none showed a decrease of death rate, and now the best studies show an increase in death rate in the use of this drug..../8

...so, the big question: Huge numbers are using hydro for treatment of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Why are they not dying at the same level as COVID patients taking hydro? (This is the foundation of the "what have you got to lose" argument)...9

...what the folks with this position don't get is that drugs can cause different results depending on the patent's underlying condition. An example: tPA is amazing at helping stroke patients...for the first three hours after the stroke. Following 3 hours, tPa is very.../10

...dangerous - it has a higher probability of killing patients than saving them. So, if you had a stroke 2 hours ago, you get tPA to save your life. At 4 hours, you are not given tPA so the doctor doesn't kill you.

So, how does a COVID patient differ from a lupus patient.../11

...why is there a higher death rate registered? Back to the cardiologist who said this result isnt surprising: COVID attacks the heart. Hydro can cause abnormal heart rhythms, that can be survivable in a patient with a strong heart, but the results were unclear - until now.../12

...the attack of the virus on the heart weakens it. In fact, it has long been known that acute respiratory infections dramatically increase the risk of heart attacks. (See attached study).../13

nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NE…

...does COVID have the same effect? Without question. We had the first signs of this early in the pandemic, on February 15, when researchers reported an significantly escalated incidence of heart damage in COVID patients. (See attached study).../14

thelancet.com/journals/lance…

... in fact, the virus that causes COVID attacks the heart more than any other virus. Below is an excerpt of a Harvard article about the coronary effects of COVID. Whole article is here: news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/…

...now, notice, this "every medical expert knows this"
theme comes from an article published on April 14. It has also been known for many years that hydro - along with similar drugs - can cause an extension of what is called the QT interval in the heart, thus leading to...

...coronary arrhythmias - which is associated with developing abnormal heart rhythms or heart attacks. Add COVID to the mix, and you have someone with a virus attacking the heart, under immense stress in all body functions, suddenly having their heart rhythm changed....

...Did *I* know this? Bits and pieces. Did I know enough to put it all together? Nope. If you think you know more than an expert, you're a moron. If you think you know anything close to the experts, you're a moron. So I called an expert. And he showed me things I am attaching...

...to this thread. Bottom line: When some idiot says "What have you got to lose" - whether a guy on Facebook or the President of the United States - about using a prescription drug, the answer is *you don't know.* "Sounds good to me" is not relevant. I have seen the "lots...

...of people use it without a problem, so what difference does it make?" argument. The answer is this: If you think people without COVID dont have problems, you're an idiot. And if you think a a prescription drug can't have more side-effects when the patient has an underlying...

...different disease, you are also a moron.

If you STILL think youre smarter than the experts, if you STILL think studies you can't even understand are irrelevant, if you STILL think Ingraham or Trump or Rush know more about medicine than doctors, if you STILL think anecdote...

...disproves medical research, I will say this: Your "I think it works, what have i got to lose" nonsense is hurting real people. People with lupus and other autoimmune disease are going without the medication they need to manage their pain. And they are doing it so a bunch...

...of self-centered idiots will swallow anything if some unqualified jackass tells you it's great. So, "what have you got to lose?" should be, "Why are you torturing people?"

(Subnote: There is no evidence, none, that hydro prevents COVID. Nothing.)...

...of course this is America so an appeal to the well-being of others is not as important to many as "what about me???"

If you still take it, even though it doesn't stop COVID, and ignore research, then please, have Ingraham treat your cancer. And Trump perform your surgery...

..& Rush treat your brain hemorrhage. If you think that sounds ridiculous, now you know how you sound trusting these people to treat COVID.

But after all this, if you STILL take it, then - the world won't suffer one bit when a selfish, stupid person like you drops dead.

fin