More results from the RECOVERY trial - Hydroxychloroquine:
Among patients hospitalised with COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) did not improve 28-day mortality, duration of hospital stay, or risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death
1561 patients were randomised to HCQ + usual care
3155 patients were randomised to usual care alone
in the largest randomised trial of HCQ for treatment of COVID
No evidence of benefit of HCQ on any of the pre-specified endpoints.
No evidence of benefit of HCQ in any of the pre-specified subgroups of patients
I have been asked about the effect of HCQ in the 91% of patients with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus).
No evidence of benefit in those patients either:
The WHO SOLIDARITY trial has subsequently announced similar results and has discontinued enroling patients to the HCQ arm of that study: who.int/news-room/deta…
Note: we did not study the use of HCQ for prophylaxis (prevention) or for treatment of patients outside hospital with milder forms of COVID.
Please remember:
- like every drug we study, we hoped it would work
- like every drug we study, we couldn't be sure it would work
- like every drug we study, we did the trial to find out
Now we know the answer in hospitalised pts
- HCQ does not work
Disappointing but important
The RECOVERY trial has now answered 3 questions for hospitalised COVID pts:
- HCQ is not effective
- Lopinavir is not effective
- Dexamethasone reduces mortality for patients on oxygen or mechanical ventilators
All 3 results have changed medical practice & benefited patients
We push on with the study of 4 further treatments. Same rationale - we think they might work, we need to know if they do work, how well, & for whom:
- azithromycin
- tocilizumab
- convalescent plasma
- REGN-COV2 monoclonal neutralising antibodies
Answer to follow.
And as ever: Huge thanks to absolutely everyone involved - funders, researchers, data scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, across the whole UK.
But most of all thanks to the amazing & ongoing contribution of the more than 13,000 patients who have taken part in RECOVERY.
There is a full list of >3,000 collaborators, contributors, funders & supporting organizations in the Appendix. Thank you
Team science - bringing clinical trials to the bedside in a shared effort to find effective treatments for future patients with COVID nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1…
In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, lopinavir–ritonavir did not reduce 28-day mortality, duration of hospital stay, or risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death.
Lopinavir-ritonavir is an HIV treatment that was widely recommended and used for #COVID19. The RECOVERY trial has shown it does not work - so doctors no longer use it.
That’s why we do trials - to separate out drugs we think might work from drugs we know do work.