Definitely, this controversial study on hydroxychloroquine published two weeks ago will have caused a stir. The Lancet magazine has just withdrawn it, explaining that three of its authors had retracted. They mentioned the responsibility of Surgisphere, a company specializing in the analysis of health data.
Just a few days ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the resumption of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine. This decision followed a suspension of these same trials ten days earlier. This is a study published in the journal The Lancet on May 22, 2020 which is at the origin of the case. The latter raised the lack of evidence of the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on hospitalized Covid-19 patients. There was even talk of adverse effects, particularly related to heart rate, which could lead to death.
The study generated a wave of protest , to which even researchers originally unfavorable to hydroxychloroquine have contributed. Just before the WHO statement about the resumption of trials, the journal The Lancet published a warning alerting readers to the fact that serious scientific questions had been brought to his attention. According to an article by the Reuters news agency on June 5, 2020, the scientific journal went even further by suppressing the study completely.
If The Lancet withdrew the study, the reason is not directly found in the wave of protest that followed its publication. In fact, three of the authors – including Professor Mandeep R Mehra – retracted. The latter cited concerns about the quality and veracity of the study data . Above all, they named Surgisphere, the analysis company that provided the data. This would have been far from flawless in its work to ensure an independent review.
Dr. Sapan Desai, the study's fourth author, avoided commenting on the matter. And for good reason, the person concerned is the general manager of Surgisphere since its foundation in 2008. Let us recall in passing that a second scientific journal, the New England Journal of Medicine , has already withdrawn another study for the same reasons. However, it was also based on data from Surgisphere and had Professor Mandeep R Mehra of Harvard Medical School as lead author.
Employed at Northwest Community Hospital (Illinois, USA) until 2016, vascular surgeon Sapan Desai is a controversial figure across the Atlantic. This one is indeed subject to three ongoing procedures for medical malpractice in the United States.
