Some practical points to know about COVID-19 medications

Professor Bui Duy Tam with his sharing about Covid medicine 19
A few practical points to know about COVID-19 medications to date (March 26, 2020):
- Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate / Chloroquine Sulfate together with Azithromycin + (Zinc Sulfate + Vit.C) is a cure for Covid-19, although not yet qualified for scientific testing, but has had a lot of clinical experience with scientists / physicians. reputation.
- Must have doctor's instructions for each case, each individual. Arbitrary use can be dead.
- Young people die like old people.
(There is time, then read the following articles to have understanding from different perspectives, it may be a bit confusing but still somewhat beneficial to protect yourself if you know how to think)

Chloroquine: "The Miracle" of Covid-19?

RFI 26/03/2020

The new strain of corona virus continues to spread across the planet, killing tens of thousands of lives and making hundreds of thousands of people infected. More than a third of the world's population must "confine themselves" in their homes to control the spread of the disease. In the search for a "miracle" to treat this new corona virus, a drug is sparking a fierce controversy: Use drugs containing chloroquine.

Extracted from the bark of the Chinchona ofcinalis tree in Peru, chloroquine appeared on the French pharmaceutical market in 1949 under the name Nivaquine, and later Plaquenil, prepared by Sanofi. But controversy erupted when professor Didier Raoult, who led the Mediterranean Institute of Infectious Diseases in Marseille, relied on Chinese studies and several clinical trials at his institute, asserting that chloroquine had can treat corona virus infection. The reputable doctor in France as well as in the world goes even further when proposing for mass use in the treatment of patients infected with this virus.

This statement has divided the Western scientific community. Some French hospitals thought that they would use this drug but others were hesitant, because the study was only conducted on a small number of victims (in fact 24 people), so it is difficult to evaluate the effect. indeed of medicine.

However, in the context of an urgent situation, the High Council of Public Health recommends that chloroquine should be used only in severe cases, while awaiting results of a large-scale clinical trial in Europe with the join of 8 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns against a "false hope", while US President Donald Trump is excited, claiming to be able to use chloroquine to treat the corona virus, despite the status quo. the reservations of US health officials.

Why has chloroquine sparked such controversy? So what is chloroquine? What is the real effect of the drug in the treatment of new corona virus? RFI Vietnamese asked Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, Head of Infection Department of Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

*****

RFI : Dear doctor Truong Huu Khanh. First of all, can your doctor tell you what chloroquine really does?

BS. Trương Hữu Khanh: “Actually, this chloroquine is a classic medicine, used for a long time in medicine. It is a medicine to treat malaria, which is a parasite that can be passed from mosquitoes to people. In addition, chloroquine is also used to treat a number of chronic joint diseases, such as viruses. It is not a strange medicine in the medical industry at all. »

RFI : There is an opinion that chloroquine could be used to treat patients with Covid-19 infection. How bad is it?

« 

Chloroquine was used in the treatment of viral infections during the 2003 SARS epidemic. Unfortunately, SARS later disappeared on its own. At that time, chloroquine was used, which was inserted into the cells to inhibit the SARS virus. After that, people also used this chloroquine to test on primates, it also showed effect.

However, for science, wanting to prove effective in humans takes time. With the current state of illness, the medical team has to search all past drugs, or test some other diseases to apply for SARS-Cov-2, called Covid-19, That shouldn't be too surprising. That is the role of the person doing the treatment, scientists must do so.

However, to assess the level of effect or not takes time. Sometimes, at the end of the epidemic, people sit together to find out that ‘ah, this works' or doesn't. If there are only a few studies there are no conclusive conclusions. This is similar to other drugs, so the application of the treatment should only be used in the hospital and by the researcher, should not be used outside. »

RFI : So according to the doctor, should people not buy or store chloroquine at home if they feel symptoms of Covid-19 infection?

« 

Right. We know that a drug, especially this chloroquine, the therapeutic dose and the lethal dose of toxicity are very close together, which requires precision and precision. If we buy medicine to save ourselves and then drink it ourselves, it is very dangerous.

There are two points we must pay attention to. The first is that if we have a fever, then drink it and we are not sure if we have this SARS-Cov 2, if we take it without careful dose, the first is ineffective and the second is dangerous. .

The second point is that many people take it to prevent, without the virus attacking, I don't know how much to prevent. Because I can be attacked by a virus at any time because if I don't have a way of living to prevent the virus. Because if I take the vaccine I have to take it all the time. But drinking so much will affect the liver and kidneys. At a certain point when the wrong drink comes, it is likely to be poisoned.

Thirdly, if I leave this drug in the house, I keep it, there is a possibility that someone in the family will get confused, for example, that they drink the wrong way, especially children, the probability of death is very high. Therefore, if it is heard that chloroquine is capable of treating Covid-19, then of course this is probably good news, but all that should be done for the treating person, the doctor directly treating the case. . Since it is well known that most people with Covid-19 disease resolve on their own, the conclusion that chloroquine works takes a certain time ».

RFI :Does Vietnam prohibit the sale of chloroquine? Why ?

« Actually, chloroquine was not sold much to anyone before, because this is the drug they used to commit suicide. Currently, due to such rumors, there are some people who hunt medicine at home ».

RFI : In the current epidemic crisis, can you tell us how many Covid-19 treatment regimens in the world today?

« In fact, when we encounter a case of viral pneumonia, we must understand that most of our viruses do not have a specific treatment, so the standard regimen of viral pneumonia is the same as for Covid- 19 is no different. That means we will treat the symptoms. If we have respiratory failure, we will interfere with that respiratory failure to the maximum extent that is mechanical ventilation. And if there are functional disorders of other organs, then treatment corrects those functions and waits for the body to repair itself and push the virus out of the body.

Left there are treatment regimens that we can see using chloroquine or new drugs like Remdesivir ... Those antibiotics are really just within the research cycle and the target antibiotic difference is for the treatment of superinfection. We know that when it is superinfected, bacteria and especially bacteria in the hospital can cause very high mortality due to high drug resistance. In fact, there is no alternative treatment regimen for viral infections, because at present, Covid-19's specific treatment, the correct treatment of that virus, is currently under study. »

RFI Vietnamese would like to thank Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, Children's Hospital 1, in Ho Chi Minh City.