The side-effects Trump risks by taking hydroxychloroquine include death and seizures

Though U.S. President Donald Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine, the Food and Drug Administration cautions that anyone who is not currently hospitalized by COVID-19 should not be taking the controversial drug.

The drug has been approved for arthritis and preventing and treating malaria but recent studies have found that it can cause serious heart rhythm problems for COVID-19 patients.

If taken outside of a clinical trial, patients can run the risk of “low blood sugar, particularly among people with diabetes; anemia and other blood problems; worsening of seizures and other neurology (brain) problems; and retina (layer of eye tissue) damage that can cause vision problems,” according to an FAQ page on the FDA’s website.

The FDA only approved hydroxychloroquine to be used under the Emergency Use Authorization protocol after limited evidence showed the drug had shown some promise to prevent the worsening of COVID-19 in patients.

One study showed that the drug has no effect on treating the novel coronavirus and there was a higher death rate amongst test subjects taking hydroxychloroquine, CNN reported at the end of April.

In his press conference, Trump referenced the study.

He noted that the “only negative” feedback he has heard about the drug comes from an analysis done by academic researchers that examined the medical records of 368 male patients at Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide and found that the drug was linked to higher rates of death for those hospitalized with the coronavirus.

According to the April study, more than 27 per cent of patients who received hydroxychloroquine died, and 22 per cent of patients who were treated with a combination of the drug and the antibiotic azithromycin also died. In comparison, the death rate for those who did not receive the drugs was 11.4 per cent.

“The only negative I’ve heard was the study where they gave it — was it the VA? With, you know, people that aren’t big Trump fans gave it,” Trump said, adding, “It was a very unscientific report, by the way. But I get a lot of tremendously positive news on the hydroxy. And I say, ‘Hey.’ You know the expression I’ve used . . .? ‘What do you have to lose?’ OK? ‘What do you have to lose?’ ”

Because the 73-year-old president does not have the novel coronavirus, nor is he hospitalized due to an infection of the virus, he is deemed a less-than-ideal candidate to be taking the controversial treatment. The FDA has warned that outside of clinical trials, no one should be using hydroxychloroquine in an attempt to treat themselves.

“I’m taking hydroxychloroquine,” Trump said at his press conference. “I’ve been taking it for the last week and a half. A pill every day.”

Trump who is tested daily for the virus, said he had asked the White House physician if it was OK to take the drug, and the doctor told him: “Well, if you’d like it.”

The FDA warns that it’s “critical” to first have studies that show whether hydroxychloroquine is indeed helpful before the public can be advised to take it.

Trump’s physician, in a memorandum, said he and the president had “numerous discussions” about the pros and cons of using hydroxychloroquine. “We concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks,” Sean Conley wrote.

With files from Reuters and The Washington Post.