Chloroquine, recommended dose and side effects

Is chloroquine a good treatment for Covid-19 coronavirus?

Chloroquine, a well-known antimalarial, would effectively treat Covid-19, according to Chinese researchers. An announcement amplified by Professor Didier Raoult that it would sound "the end of the game" for the coronavirus epidemic. Explanations.

Questioned by Sciences et Avenir, Didier Raoult sweeps the critics: "We have been using chloroquine for a long time in our team to treat certain bacterial infections. Some of our patients have been treated for 2 years so we know the potential side effects., Chinese scientists, especially virologists, who are among the best teams in the world, should start taking seriously. "

In this case, two risks related to chloroquine have been raised in the past. First, that of retinal damage which can even lead to blindness in certain cases. But this concerns a long-term use of this medication (several years). In the case of Covid-19, this would involve treating the patients for ten days. "However, 500 mg twice a day is certainly an important dose," admits Didier Raoult. The other side effect is that of well-documented acute poisoning, which can trigger heart or respiratory problems. The dose recommended by Chinese researchers approaches this risk zone (20 mg / kg / day not to be exceeded, i.e. 1200 mg for a person of 60 kg, 1500 mg for 75 kg, according to Vidal).

Towards a clinical trial against coronaviruses with chloroquine in France?

"The history of chloroquine as an antiviral is a soap opera that gives us a new episode with each emerging virus", moderates Professor Astrid Vabret, head of the virology department at the CHU de Caen. We know that it works well in vitro on enveloped viruses like this new coronavirus. But the clinical data remain very limited. "It is therefore out of the question to rush on the drug.

Didier Raoult, himself, is already planning: "We want to set up a clinical trial in France to test chloroquine on patients infected with already known coronaviruses and who circulate every year in France - without anyone really caring However, since the beginning of the year, we have diagnosed 500 patients with these other coronaviruses, two of whom have died. It is on these profiles that I want to test this strategy now. "

In fact, four strains of coronavirus already circulate every year in France. "It is important to know that panic is always more dangerous than viruses, insists Professor Raoult. However, this new coronavirus really does not deserve to be panicked. I continue to say that like other seasonal viruses, it has strong chances of disappearing in the spring. At worst, instead of having 13 viruses that give seasonal infections, we will have 14. But I doubt that it will make a significant difference in winter mortality. "

The French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, assured having met on several occasions with Didier Raoult: "He informed me of his observations and the studies which he highlighted, which I pointed out to the general directorate of health which is currently carrying out all the analyzes. "

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