Both drugs can cause arrhythmias — even life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.
While the debates about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin are ongoing, attention is also focused on safety. Investigators used the WHO pharmacovigilance database to compare cardiovascular adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among patients who received hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, or their combination against cardiovascular ADRs associated with all other drugs; the database contains >21 million reports (NCT04314817).
The researchers identified 76,822 cardiovascular ADR reports with hydroxychloroquine alone, 89,692 with azithromycin alone, and 607 with the combination. Hydroxychloroquine was suspected to be the offending agent in 28% of the cases and azithromycin in 61% of the cases. There was greater reporting of prolong…
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DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardUnited Healthcare; Element Science; Eyedentifeye, F-Prime
EquityHugo Health; Refactor Health; Element Science
Grant/Research SupportPfizer; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Janssen Research and Development, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Cancer Institute; American Heart Association
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardUnited Healthcare; Element Science; Eyedentifeye, F-Prime
EquityHugo Health; Refactor Health; Element Science
Grant/Research SupportPfizer; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Janssen Research and Development, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Cancer Institute; American Heart Association