Study undercuts possible COVID-19 pill

More COVID-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine died than those who received other treatments, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed medical records of 369 male patients at U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals and found no benefit for those who took the antimalarial drug. About 28 percent of those who received hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11 percent who didn’t take it.

Does this mean doctors won’t use the medication anymore? Possibly not, at least for severely ill patients. Some earlier studies found that patients with mild symptoms who took hydroxychloroquine along with the antibiotic azithromycin got better, and President Donald Trump at the time touted the drug as a “game-changer.” But the latest research in VA hospitals, which was the largest look so far at the drug, indicates it has little effect on whether patients recover from COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health on Tuesday released new guidelines saying there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend or discourage physicians’ use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus. More rigorous tests are underway.

Dig deeper: Read the complete results of the study, which received grants from the NIH and the University of Virginia.