• Home
  • Wellness Articles
  • Contact

Wellcast

Womens Health, Wellness and Integrative Health.

Home » Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19: Why randomized studies are important

Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19: Why randomized studies are important

September 1, 2020 By Deborah

Facebook0
Twitter0
Google+0
Pinterest0
LinkedIn0

white medication pill on orange plastic container

 

There has been alot of debate on whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is effective in preventing or treating COVID-19. What got things started was a French study suggesting efficacy in lowering the viral load in patients with COVID-19 back in March 2020. We have learned alot since then and other studies have called into question both the efficacy and safety of HCQ in treating COVID-19.

The French study was a non-randomized study of 36 hospitalized people in which patients were recruited either into a treatment group or control (non-treatment) group. This was an observational study. Since then, there have been roughly 900 published studies in which the vast majority are observational studies. So whats the difference?

In an observational study, the effect of the drug being tested (in this case HCQ), is due to its true causal effect (lowering viral load or treating the infection) AND the characteristics of who was selected for treatment.

Whereas, in a randomized trial, because the selection is random, the effect is due solely to the true effect of the treatment. This is a much better type of study looking primarily at the effect of the drug treatment.

So if you are able to select the people in the treatment group, the researcher can tend to choose those that are younger, and who have fewer co-morbidities which is poised to do better than if the treatment was assigned randomly.

Observational studies are still good studies and should be used to design randomized studies. Randomized studies should then be used to guide therapy.

So the next time you are reading research about a new prevention or treatment for COVID-19, check to see if it is a randomized study. It will serve to be more reliable.

References:  Randomized clinical trials

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2019014

https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2020-06/more-clues-potential-treatments

Related

Filed Under: Featured, Wellness

Looking for Something?

A Little About Me

Debbie is a board certified family nurse practitioner with an emphasis on women's health. During the past 22 years she has worked in women's health and family practice with a focus on the integration of conventional and alternative therapies.

Email Updates

Sign up to receive email updates for the latest in health and wellness.

Connect with us online

  • Twitter

Latest Tweets

  • The Largest Human Experiment in History is.gd/zgzPKy

    Yesterday at 9:14 pm

  • Natural Compounds to Reduce Pulmonary Inflammation is.gd/B98AtZ

    Yesterday at 12:15 pm

  • The New Wave of Allergens is.gd/b2wbXS

    Yesterday at 3:15 am

  • Exercise Protects the Aging Brain is.gd/pNpW0w

    June 24, 2022 6:15 pm

  • Best Pain Treatments for Common Injuries is.gd/JWbEfC

    June 24, 2022 9:18 am

Copyright © 2022 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in