French Study: Hydroxychloroquine Caused 17K+ Deaths During Early Part of COVID-19

Physician-scientists from France and Quebec ponder the implications of use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. With their findings published in the journal Biomedicine &amp; Pharmacotherapy a meta-analysis tracking randomized controlled trials reveals that use of the drug early on associates with an 11% mortality rate. The present authors elaborate and extrapolate worldwide on potential estimated in-hospital mortality linked to the drug by combining the mortality rate, HCQ exposure, number of hospitalized patients, and the increased relative risk of death with HCQ. Acknowledging their output significantly limited, the authors point nonetheless to drug repurposing hazards, especially with low-levels of evidence.
The Study