A Colorado family physician claimed that prescribing the drug touted by President Trump as a treatment for the coronavirus, combined with an antibiotic, has reversed his patients’ symptoms in a matter of “a day or two.”
Dr. Constantine Tsamasfyros has practiced medicine in Denver for 50 years and began treating about a dozen coronavirus patients with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and an antibiotic called azithromycin about four weeks ago.
“They all did well. They seemed to reverse their symptoms in a day or two,” Tsamasfyros told CBS Denver this week.
He added that he “absolutely” believes the medication works and said he began prescribing the Trump-touted drug because there weren’t any other options.
“If they’re drowning, you either pull them out of the water or at least throw them a rope to come out,” he said.
“On an outpatient basis, there is really nothing to offer our patients,” he continued. “Until we have something documented or better, this is a fallback, and we should not be depriving our patients. You certainly don’t want to deprive a patient that might be drowning in an inflamed lung situation of any kind of help or assistance.”
Trump has said the anti-malarial drug could be an effective treatment for the virus and pushed the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track its approval for coronavirus patients.
“It’s a powerful drug on malaria, and there are scientific works on this. Some strong signs,” he said over the weekend. “What do you have to lose? If it does work, it would be a shame if we didn’t do it early.”
Members of the White House task force on the coronavirus, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have urged caution on the drug’s effectiveness.
“In terms of science, I don’t think we can definitively say it works,” Fauci said on Sunday.
