Ubiq -“This thread wasn’t really about hospitalized patients , we are discussing Dr. Z who treated outpatients.”
I DON’T Care about Dr. Z’s protocol. Actually, I don’t recommend Z-pack, because of one study of the 3 drug combo that caused Torsades dP.
“I naively assumed (hoped?) you had an actual source and weren’t making stuff up again
I was wrong
again”
I think you’re in the Wrong Profession – How about STAND UP COMEDY?!?
Maybe your attitude is prevalent among NY Medical professionals?
Maybe that’s why – NY is the Epicenter in the World of COVID-19?!?
“Thus far as far as I’m aware there is no guideline or suggestion supporting the use of HCQ for those well enough to be managed as outpt.”
Well here it is – Free of Charge:
“04.29.20
AAPS: Hydroxychloroquine Has about 90 Percent Chance of Helping COVID-19 Patients
Source: Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
In a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) presented a frequently updated table of studies that report results of treating COVID-19 with the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, Plaquenil).
The AAPS stated:
“To date, the total number of reported patients treated with HCQ, with or without zinc and the widely used antibiotic azithromycin, is 2,333, writes AAPS, in observational data from China, France, South Korea, Algeria, and the U.S. Of these, 2,137 or 91.6 percent improved clinically. There were 63 deaths, all but 11 in a single retrospective report from the Veterans Administration where the patients were severely ill.
The antiviral properties of these drugs have been studied since 2003. Particularly when combined with zinc, they hinder viral entry into cells and inhibit replication. They may also prevent overreaction by the immune system, which causes the cytokine storm responsible for much of the damage in severe cases, explains AAPS. HCQ is often very helpful in treating autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Additional benefits shown in some studies, AAPS states, is to decrease the number of days when a patient is contagious, reduce the need for ventilators, and shorten the time to clinical recovery.
Peer-reviewed studies published from January through April 20, 2020, provide clear and convincing evidence that HCQ may be beneficial in COVID-19, especially when used early, states AAPS. Unfortunately, although it is perfectly legal to prescribe drugs for new indications not on the label, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that CQ and HCQ should be used for COVID-19 only in hospitalized patients in the setting of a clinical study if available. Most states are making it difficult for physicians to prescribe or pharmacists to dispense these medications.
As the letter to Gov. Ducey notes, “Many nations, including Turkey and India, are protecting medical workers and contacts of infected persons prophylactically. According to worldometers.info, deaths per million persons from COVID-19 as of Apr 27 are 167 in the U.S., 33 in Turkey, and 0.6 in India.”
After Morocco and Algeria began using HCQ, a trend break and sharp reduction in their COVID-19 case fatality rate occurred.
Vaccines and results of randomized double-blind controlled trials of new drugs are at best months away. But patients are dying now, while affordable, long-used drugs would be available except for government restrictions, AAPS states.”