BREAKING: Professor Raoult has released a further result. Using Google Translate on two tweets:
Our two articles published this evening help to demonstrate:
1. The effectiveness of our protocol, on 80 patients.
2. The relevance of the association of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, thanks to research carried out in our P3 containment laboratory. https://t.co/Y91bsFOgB2
– Didier Raoult (@raoult_didier) March 27, 2020
and:
New article published online by my teams: in vitro demonstration of the hydroxychloroquine / azithromycin synergy to counter the replication of SARS-COV2
In vitro testing of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin on SARS-CoV-2 shows synergistic effecthttps: //t.co/KUaag6N5FF
– Didier Raoult (@raoult_didier) March 27, 2020
Here is a chart in one of the Twitter threads, which seems to document the efficacy of the HCQ-Z-pac cocktail across 5 – 6 days of treatment:
Of course, there is also a suggestion on Zinc supplements.
Let’s see how this further develops, one way or the other. END
U/D1: After searching, I found at Professor Raoult’s Institute as follows.
Exhibit 1, on the 80 patient study:
Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: an observational study
Running title: Hydroxychloroquine-Azithromycin and COVID-19Abstract
We need an effective treatment to cure COVID-19 patients and to decrease the virus carriage duration. In 80 in-patients receiving a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin we noted a clinical improvement in all but one 86 year-old patient who died, and one 74 year- old patient still in intensive care unit. A rapid fall of nasopharyngeal viral load tested by qPCR was noted, with 83% negative at Day7, and 93% at Day8. Virus cultures from patient respiratory samples were negative in 97.5% patients at Day5. This allowed patients to rapidly de discharge from highly contagious wards with a mean length of stay of five days. We believe other teams should urgently evaluate this cost-effective therapeutic strategy, to both avoid the spread of the disease and treat patients as soon as possible before severe respiratory
irreversible complications take hold.
Exhibit 2, on an in vitro study showing synergism between HCQ and Z-Pac at concentrations relevant to lung tissues:
In vitro testing of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin on SARS-CoV-2 shows synergistic effect
Abstract
Human coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 appeared at the end of 2019 and led to a pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. As there are currently no effective drugs targeting this virus, drug repurposing represents a short-term strategy to treat millions of infected patients at low costs. Hydroxychloroquine showed an antiviral effect in vitro. In vivo it also showed efficacy, especially when combined with azithromycin in a preliminary clinical trial. Here we demonstrate that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin has a synergistic effect in vitro on SARS-CoV-2 at concentrations compatible with that obtained in human lung.
We thus find a more comprehensive study of patients, and further in vitro results showing synergistic action. Promising, to be further followed up.