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Clinicians prescribed hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and ivermectin inappropriately to thousands of children with acute COVID-19, according to a retrospective cohort study.

In a large U.S. all-payer database, 3,602 ivermectin prescriptions and 813 HCQ prescriptions for kids with acute COVID were identified after guidelines recommended against their use, though prescription rates for these medications were less than 1%—0.03% for HCQ and 0.14% for ivermectin, reported Julianne Burns, MD, MSCE, of Stanford University in California, and colleagues in Pediatrics.

"Although this proportion may seem reassuringly low, the overall incidence of COVID-19 translates into ineffective and potentially harmful prescriptions for many children," the authors noted. However, it is somewhat reassuring that there were no medical claims for related adverse drug reactions within 28 days of the prescriptions, they added. Head over to MedPage Today to read more about it.