More than 500 reports of adverse effects from treatments tested against coronavirus went to the drug agency (ANSM). Warnings regarding hydroxychloriquin went back up reporting “Cardiotoxicity”.
The health agency also indicates that it has been informed by the Spanish Medicines Agency (AEMPS) of the occurrence in patients with Covid-19, treated with hydroxychloroquine, of known neuropsychiatric disorders: six cases including three suicides and one attempt suicide. The French agency, for its part, had no reports of serious neuropsychiatric disorders comparable to this date.
A European assessment on hydroxychloriquine is underway
These neuropsychiatric disorders appeared mainly during the first days of treatment, at high doses, including in patients with no psychiatric history.
The ANSM recalls that the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders is already known with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine (psychosis, nervousness, insomnia, depression, etc.) and could be aggravated by the context linked to the pandemic and confinement. An evaluation on this subject is underway at European level.
Regarding the other side effects monitored, the ANSM notes that “The number of cases of cardiac adverse reactions from treatments with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination has seen a less significant increase compared to the previous weeks”. She reports a fairly significant drop in usage both in the city and in the hospital.
In all, “As of May 12, 562 cases of adverse reactions have been reported in connection with Covid-19 infection, of which 78% were serious, involving 64% of men”, details the ANSM, which announced more than 300 cases on April 25 and a hundred on April 10.
Among these cases, 348 (62%) are attributed to the drugs used in the treatment of Covid-19, the other cases being divided between drugs that may have aggravated the disease (12%) and cases related to other drugs prescribed for these patients (25%).
Cardiovascular Fragility of Covid Patients
Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) accounts for the majority of cardiac adverse reactions, accounting for 141 out of 159 cases.
The cardiac effects of hydroxychloroquine account for 69% of its undesirable effects (hepatic, digestive …) listed against 44% for Kaletra (an antiretroviral combining lopinavir and ritonavir).
Hydroxychloroquine, a derivative of the antimalarial chloroquine, is known to cause electrical abnormalities in the functioning of the heart visible to the EKG in some patients, which can lead to heart rhythm disturbances or even death.
It seems like “Covid patients are more fragile cardiovascular and therefore more likely than average people to have problems with drugs that are harmful to the heart” such as hydroxychloroquine, said ANSM Director General Dominique Martin in early April.
The number of all hydroxychloroquine-related deaths in hospitals is still four.
In view of these risks, the health agency recalls that these drugs, when used against Covid-19, should be used as a priority in the context of ongoing clinical trials.
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