The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked an expert committee under CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) to discuss the validity of a research study that led to World Health Organization’s decision to temporarily ban Hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ) in the Solidarity Trials.
A study made by 4 researchers from America and Switzerland that was published in The Lancet (one of the most valued medical journals) on May claimed that use of HCQ in treatment could create irregular heart-beats (Arrhythmia) and increase mortality rate of the patients.
Following this, WHO temporarily suspended the use of HCQ in the Solidarity Trials –a mass clinical trials organized by the global health body under which many countries participate to compare the effectiveness of 4 untested treatment drugs – Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Ritonavir and Hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 patients.
The dosage of HCQ used in treating patients in India is less, and results are stable than the dosage used in Solidarity Trials. In India, a patient is given 400 mg HCQ during BD (Breakfast and Dinner) on the first day and for the next 4 days he/she is given 200mg HCQ during BD.
Patients undergo 5 day-HCQ treatment with these dosage along with 500 mg Azithromycin Once Daily (OD) for 5 days. Where as in Solidarity Trials, 1600 mg HCQ is given on the first day followed by 800 mg of it for the next 9 days.
The expert committee which will consist of members from ICMR, AIIMS, Health Ministry and CDSCO will assess the validity of the study published in the journal. The exact date is yet to be announced.
Update: The study published in The Lancet was retracted by the authors on Thursday (4.6.2020 IST). It was withdrawn by them because when they had requested a third-party peer review into the data-set that was provided by the data-analytics firm (based on which the research was made), it refused. Thus the researchers had retracted their study.