Covid-19: US FDA warns against use of hydroxychloroquine outside hospitals

Among some of side effects, heart rhythm abnormalities developed in most of the 84 coronavirus patients treated with hydroxychloroquine

The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) on Friday cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine (HCQ) for coronavirus (Covid-19) outside the hospital setting or a clinical trial, due to the risk of side effects, such as serious and potentially life-threatening heart-rhythm problems.

The drug, first approved in 1955, provided no benefit and posed higher risk of death for patients at a US hospital for veterans, according to an analysis submitted for an expert review on Tuesday.

In an alert, regulators flagged reports of sometimes fatal heart side effects among coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine or