Tag Archive for: Azithromycin

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Common COVID-19 Antibiotic No More Effective Than Placebo

Common COVID19 Antibiotic No More Effective Than Placebo - آزیترومایسین و کرونا

A UC San Francisco study has found that the antibiotic azithromycin was no more effective than a placebo in preventing symptoms of COVID-19 among non-hospitalized patients, and may increase their chance of hospitalization, despite widespread prescription of the antibiotic for the disease.

Azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is widely prescribed as a treatment for COVID-19 in the United States and the rest of the world. “The hypothesis is that it has anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent progression if treated early in the disease,” said Oldenburg. “We did not find this to be the case.”

The study included 263 participants who all tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within seven days before entering the study. None were hospitalized at the time of enrollment. In a random selection process, 171 participants received a single, 1.2 gram oral dose of azithromycin and 92 received an identical placebo.

At day 14 of the study, 50 percent of the participants remained symptom-free in both groups. By day 21, five of the participants who received azithromycin had been hospitalized with severe symptoms of COVID-19 and none of the placebo group had been hospitalized.

The researchers concluded that treatment with a single dose of azithromycin compared to placebo did not result in greater likelihood of being symptom-free.

The study, which was conducted in collaboration with Stanford University, appears in the JAMA.

Release date: 16 July 2021
Source: University of California – San Francisco

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Potential COVID-19 drug azithromycin may increase risk for cardiac events

Potential COVID-19 drug azithromycin may increase risk for cardiac events - آزیترومایسین می تواند عوارض قلبی به دنبال داشته باشد

Azithromycin — a commonly-prescribed antibiotic — also is being investigated as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Azithromycin’s association with cardiac events also has been debated. In 2012, the FDA issued a warning for azithromycin stating that it had been linked to cardiac events, but subsequent studies have yielded mixed results.

Now, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago have found that azithromycin by itself is not associated with an increase in cardiac events; however, if the drug is taken with certain other drugs that affect the electrical functioning of the heart, then cardiac events increased.

“Our findings should give researchers and clinicians looking at azithromycin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 pause,” said Haridarshan Patel, a researcher in the department of pharmacy systems, outcomes and policy at the UIC College of Pharmacy and corresponding author on the paper. “We found that if taken together with drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, the combination is linked with a 40% increase in cardiac events, including fainting, heart palpitations and even cardiac arrest.”

Drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, specifically the interval in the electrical rhythm called the QT interval, are called QT-prolonging drugs. These drugs include blood pressure medications such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, some antidepressants, anti-malaria drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, opioid medications and even muscle relaxers.

“Because QT-prolonging drugs are used so commonly, our findings suggest that doctors prescribing azithromycin should be sure that patients are not also taking a QT-prolonging drug,” Patel said.

In a previous study, Patel and colleagues found that one in five people prescribed azithromycin also were taking a QT-prolonging drug.

Release date: 16 September 2020
Source: University of Illinois at Chicago