HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE RATED 'MOST EFFECTIVE THERAPY' BY DOCTORS FOR CORONAVIRUS:

By Valerie Richardson, Washington USA

An international poll of more than 6,000 doctors released Thursday found that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine was the most highly rated treatment for the novel coronavirus.

The survey conducted by Sermo, a global health care polling company, of 6,227 physicians in 30 countries found that 37% of those treating COVID-19 patients rated hydroxychloroquine as the “most effective therapy” from a list of 15 options.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave chloroquine and its next-generation derivative, hydroxychloroquine, emergency-use authorization Monday for treating the novel coronavirus, although the drug was already being used off-label by some doctors and hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

The survey also found that the most commonly prescribed treatments are analgesics (56%), azithromycin (41%) and hydroxychloroquine (33%).

Azithromycin, known by the brand name Zithromax or Z-Pak, was rated the second-most effective therapy at 32%, followed by “nothing,” analgesics (including acetaminophen), anti-HIV drugs and cough medicine.

The medicine was most widely used in Spain, where 72 percent of physicians said they had prescribed it.

“Outside the US, hydroxychloroquine was equally used for diagnosed patients with mild to severe symptoms whereas in the US it was most commonly used for high risk diagnosed patients,” the survey found.

A debate about hydroxychloroquine was sparked two weeks ago after President Trump touted the drug as a possible “game-changer” in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting critics to accuse him of peddling unproven, untested remedies.

To date, “there is no evidence” that any medicine “can prevent or cure the disease,” according to the World Health Organization.

But Sermo CEO Peter Kirk called the polling results a “treasure trove of global insights for policymakers.”

“Physicians should have more of a voice in how we deal with this pandemic and be able to quickly share information with one another and the world,” he said in a press release.

The 30 countries where doctors were surveyed included ones in Europe, South America, and Australia — and no incentives were provided to participate, the company said.