MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The use of hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 patients has exposed no negative side effects that might serve as arguments strong enough against such therapy, however, the doses of this medication must be small, the chief therapist and general medical practice specialist of Russia’s Health Ministry, director of the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Oksana Drapkina, said on Tuesday.
"I’ve treated many such outpatients [with coronavirus infection] and I can say honestly that I’ve seen no side effects that might force me to cancel it due to some risks, such as dangerous arrhythmia," Drapkina said during an on-line conference Pandemic 2020: Challenges, Solutions and Consequences at the Russian Presidential Academy of the Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). "Small doses of it can be used during the first hours for comprehensive treatment of light and medium forms of the illness, and even in preventive patterns."
Some scientists and doctors are critical of hydroxychloroquine as a means of treating COVID-19 patients. For instance, the Peruvian radio broadcaster RPP quoted scientists and the Institute of Health Technology Assessment as saying that hydroxychloroquine by no means improved patients’ condition, but on the contrary might cause harm.