The critical role of futility analysis in the pursuit of effective treatments for COVID-19

摘要

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Researchers across the globe have been actively conducting clinical trials in the pursuit of safe and effective treatments for COVID-19. Thousands of COVID-19 clinical trials are registered in various clinical trials registries, over 200 of which include a hydroxychloroquine arm. On March 28, 2020, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization to allow hydroxychloroquine and chlo- roquine to be used for certain hospitalized patients with COVID-19 [1].