HAZDPac Examine Retracted: HCQ / Azithromycin Trial Pink Flags

BMC Cardiovascular Problems formally retracted a controversial research on the HAZDPac protocol for COVID-19. Regardless of authors claiming the therapy was secure, investigators discovered important “crimson flags” within the trial’s information and registry.

We break down the discrepancies—and the impartial criticisms—that led to the autumn of this hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin research.

HAZDPac: The Fall of a Main Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin Security Trial

The mix of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin has been repeatedly promoted (1, 2, 3, 4) as a “secure and efficient” COVID-19 therapy.

To validate these security claims, a analysis crew—together with Sabine Hazan, Nicolas Hulscher, and Peter A. McCullough—performed the HAZDPac research, printed in BMC Cardiovascular Problems in 2024 as “Cardiac findings in a section II double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of mixture remedy (HAZDPac) to deal with COVID-19 sufferers.”

Although the research initially claimed the HAZDPac cocktail precipitated no hostile cardiac occasions, a rigorous investigation by the journal’s editorial board triggered a whole retraction resulting from systemic information “crimson flags.” Nevertheless, the saga didn’t finish there; in a controversial transfer sparking debate over scientific integrity, the authors have since “journal hopped,” republishing the retracted findings in a distinct outlet.

The “HAZDPac” Protocol: What Was Being Studied?

The trial investigated a mixture remedy often called HAZDPac, which consisted of:

• Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)
• Azithromycin
• Nutritional vitamins C & D
• Zinc

Early within the pandemic, this mixture was continuously promoted as potential early remedies. The authors aimed to show that this mixture was secure and didn’t trigger QTc prolongation—a harmful coronary heart rhythm disturbance.

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Why “HAZDPac” Protocol Was Retracted: The Editorial Pink Flags

The retraction by BMC was not triggered by a single error, however by a “constellation of discrepancies” that emerged after the research was flagged post-publication.

• Medical Trial Registry Mismatch: The printed paper didn’t match its official registry. Discrepancies had been present in participant counts, trial dates, and dosages. When authors supplied a distinct registration quantity (NCT04334512), the editors discovered the inconsistencies remained unresolvable.
• Statistical Imbalance and Confounding: The editorial board discovered a big imbalance in baseline traits between the therapy and placebo teams.
• Overstated Security Claims: The editors concluded the research was considerably “underpowered.” With too few members, the research lacked the mathematical energy to detect the very cardiac dangers it claimed to disprove.
• Undisclosed Conflicts of Curiosity: The investigation revealed that the authors did not disclose related competing pursuits on the time of submission.

The authors disagreed with the retraction, however the editors misplaced confidence within the paper’s outcomes and conclusions, and retracted it over their objections.

Impartial Criticism: The “Bayesian” Rebuttal

A proper response printed on ResearchGate supplied a devastating critique of the authors’ conclusions. Impartial analysts argued that the authors relied on statistical procedures ill-suited for proving security.

When the information was re-examined utilizing Bayesian evaluation, the outcomes recommended it was really extra possible that the HAZDPac therapy extended QTc intervals—the precise reverse of what the authors claimed.

Moreover, critics revealed that once they requested the total dataset for verification, the corresponding creator refused, citing a scarcity of “bandwidth.”

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The HAZDPac Examine Will get Second Life in IJIRMS

In a transfer typically seen when authors disagree with a retraction, the research was republished (archive) within the Worldwide Journal of Modern Analysis in Medical Science (IJIRMS).

Whereas the unique model is marked as retracted in PubMed Central (PMC11837397), this new model permits the research to stay accessible with out the outstanding “RETRACTED” watermarks discovered on the BMC website.

The authors keep that the retraction by BMC was a type of “censorship.” By shifting the research to a distinct platform, they’ve successfully bypassed the unique retraction discover. Nevertheless, this observe—typically known as “journal hopping“—is seen with skepticism by the broader scientific group.

Critics level out that republication in a distinct journal doesn’t robotically resolve the elemental information and registry considerations raised by the unique writer’s Analysis Integrity Group.

IJIRMS Seems to be a Predatory Journal

The Worldwide Journal of Modern Analysis in Medical Sciences (IJIRMS) seems on Beall’s Listing, and the Predatory Journals database—each of which monitor publishers and journals identified for predatory practices. This issues as a result of predatory journals prioritise revenue over high quality, and have a tendency to:

• skip or severely restrict peer assessment, successfully “rubber-stamping” submissions
• give attention to quantity, publishing giant volumes of paid submissions with minimal oversight,
• ignore earlier retractions, permitting flawed information to re-enter the scientific document.

Because of this, papers printed in these retailers can’t be assumed to be credible or correctly reviewed, even once they declare in any other case.

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