US children at times received ineffective COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin--study

Study: US children at times received ineffective COVID-19 treatments US children were prescribed ineffective and potentially harmful drugs to treat COVID-19, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), according to a study published today in Pediatrics. The authors note that while the rates of non-recommended prescribing were very low, because of the large number of pediatric cases, the actual impact is fairly substantial. CIDRAP

During the first weeks of the pandemic, both ivermectin and HCQ were described by clinicians as improving outcomes in patients with severe COVID, but further studies of the medicines showed they did little to improve outcomes.

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, on September 12, 2020, said HCQ should not be used outside of clinical trials, and by February 5, 2021, ivermectin was also no longer recommended by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

"Despite guidelines, use of these medications for acute COVID-19 continued and led to medication shortages," the authors wrote. "By August 2021, ivermectin prescriptions from outpatient retail pharmacies increased 24-fold compared with prepandemic baseline, and ivermectin-related calls to poison control centers increased 5-fold."

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