Thread by @microbeminded2

So remember when I wrote this thread in an effort to explain why, coming from a mechanism of action perspective, #hydroxychloroquine (#HCQ) for #COVID-19 should be administered with #zinc?

https://twitter.com/microbeminded2/status/1255907418908876803

2/ Well, this NYU preprint explains how the team performed a retrospective observational study to compare #hospital outcomes among patients who received #HCQ + azithromycin + #zinc vs. HCQ + azithromycin alone for COVID-19: medrxiv.org/content/10.110…

3/ They found that addition of #zinc sulfate to the #drug combo increased the frequency of patients being discharged home, and decreased the need for #ventilation, admission to the #ICU, and mortality or transfer to hospice for patients who were never admitted to the ICU.

4/ If those results hold, my thinking is: artist Pablo Picasso once said “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” In other words, the output of a program (or #clinical trial!) is only as good as the accuracy of the information you input, or start with

That many clinical trials have moved forward w/ #HCQ in #COVID-19, w/ study designs that dismissed the concurrent use of #zinc as an ionophore will always baffle me. And that we demonized HCQ in the #USA under such conditions makes me straight-up angry

6/ Also, to be clear, addition of #zinc sulfate to #HCQ + azithromycin was found to associate w/ a decrease in mortality or transition to hospice among patients who did not require ICU level of care, but the association was not significant in patients who were treated in the #ICU

7/ That finding (the drug combo not helpful once patients are very sick in ICU) is EXPECTED! The goal of HCQ + zinc is to prevent #viral load from increasing in earlier-stage #COVID-19, w/ the hope of preventing progression to more serious #disease