Two drugs used to treat malaria that have been cleared for COVID-19 treatment may have serious side effects in the elderly, a physician told McKnight’s.
“Many older adults have some degree of kidney impairment or liver disease, which may be augmented by these drugs,” said Kevin O’Neil, M.D., chief medical officer, Affinity Living Group.
The Food and Drug Administration in late March issued emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, decades-old drugs used in autoimmune disease and malaria therapy. And while preliminary research hints that the drugs could be beneficial, neither has yet been proven efficacious or safe in patients with the coronavirus, O’Neil said.
Moreover, both drugs are associated with adverse effects such as cardiac arrhythmias, skin reactions, neuromuscular problems and potentially life-threatening anemia.
“Severe lowering of blood sugar has occurred even when [patients are] not on antidiabetic drugs,” O’Neil said.
The urge to help a seriously ill patient in the absence of an alternative treatment is understandable, he acknowledged, but it could also be harmful.
