From Wikipedia:---
Chloroquine...
.........
Side effects
Side effects include blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, headache, diarrhea, swelling legs/ankles, shortness of breath, pale lips/nails/skin, muscle weakness, easy bruising/bleeding, hearing and mental problems.
[15][16]
- Unwanted/uncontrolled movements (including tongue and face twitching) [15]
- Deafness or tinnitus.[15]
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps[16]
- Headache.[15]
- Mental/mood changes (such as confusion, personality changes, unusual thoughts/behavior, depression, feeling being watched, hallucinating)[15][16]
- Signs of serious infection (such as high fever, severe chills, persistent sore throat)[15]
- Skin itchiness, skin color changes, hair loss, and skin rashes.[16][17]
- Chloroquine-induced itching is very common among black Africans (70%), but much less common in other races. It increases with age, and is so severe as to stop compliance with drug therapy. It is increased during malaria fever; its severity is correlated to the malaria parasite load in blood. Some evidence indicates it has a genetic basis and is related to chloroquine action with opiate receptors centrally or peripherally.[18]
- Unpleasant metallic taste
- This could be avoided by "taste-masked and controlled release" formulations such as multiple emulsions.[19]
- Chloroquine retinopathy
- Electrocardiographic changes[20]
- This manifests itself as either conduction disturbances (bundle-branch block, atrioventricular block) or Cardiomyopathy – often with hypertrophy, restrictive physiology, and congestive heart failure. The changes may be irreversible. Only two cases have been reported requiring heart transplantation, suggesting this particular risk is very low. Electron microscopy of cardiac biopsies show pathognomonic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies.
- Pancytopenia, aplastic anemia, reversible agranulocytosis, low blood platelets, neutropenia.[21]
Elderly
There is not enough evidence to determine whether chloroquine is safe to be given to people aged 65 and older. Since it is cleared by the kidneys, toxicity should be monitored carefully in people with poor kidney functions.
[21]
Overdose
Chloroquine, in overdose, has a risk of death of about 20%.
[24] It is rapidly absorbed from the gut with an onset of symptoms generally within an hour.
[25] Symptoms of overdose may include sleepiness, vision changes,
seizures,
stopping of breathing, and heart problems such as
ventricular fibrillation and
low blood pressure.
[24][25] Low blood potassium may also occur.
[24]
Since mortality due to Covid-19 is higher among people over 70, the note above on chloroquine's toxicity is a warning for use in this pandemic. Covid-19 is especially dangerous to people who have other underlying health issues. So anyone with heart conditions note above "Electrocardiographic changes"
Note the sixth potential side effect: "Signs of serious infection (such as high fever, severe chills, persistent sore throat)" In a Covid-19 ICU patient, how would you know if the high fever, and sore throat are due to chloroquine or Covid-19? Another warning sign of Covid-19 is headache - it is also a potential side effect of chloroquine.
All of these dangers and negative side-effects are known. All of the above are referenced. (Go to the site, if you want to trace the sources.) It is understandable that the front line doctors in the Covid-19 pandemic might be reluctant to use this drug experimentally. No doubt doctors in the US would want to get patients to sign a waiver on the doctor's responsibility in the case of severe damage or death due to its use. Otherwise litigation awaits!
Either the Pres hasn't read this evidence, or he simply doesn't believe it. I'd hate to have him as my doctor.
