The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been widely promoted as a treatment for the coronavirus, has failed for a second time to show a benefit in patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday. It involved nearly 1,400 patients treated at Columbia University in New York. Doctors said that the use of the drug neither lessened the need for patients requiring breathing assistance nor the risk of death.
The study found that 32.3% of the patients given hydroxychloroquine ended up needing a ventilator or dying, compared with 14.9% of patients who were not given the drug. The researchers concluded that the drug may not have hurt patients, but it clearly did not help.
The treatment has seen widespread use in the pandemic after United States president Donald Trump has promoted a combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to treat the virus.
Last month, another US study also found that the drug had no benefit in fighting Covid-19.
Hydroxychloroquine is used for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It has potentially serious side effects, including altering the heartbeat in a way that could lead to sudden death.
