- Toxicities are similar to chloroquine but are not as common 

Smith College

- Findings in support of using HCQ for COVID-19 treatment
- Findings opposed to use of HCQ for COVID-19 treatment 
- HCQ Mechanism of action
- Toxicities of HCQ

Findings Related to the Use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as treatment for COVID-19

Sanders, J. M., Monogue, M. L., Jodlowski, T. Z., & Cutrell, J. B. (2020). Pharmacologic treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a review. Jama, 323(18), 1824-1836.
doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6019
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764727/

Pharmacologic Treatments for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)


- Hazard ratio for  in-hospital mortality amongst hospitalized patients in NYC were not significantly different for those given HCQ

- Odds of cardiac arrest were higher in hospitalized patients in NYC given HCQ

- Odds of abnormal ECG findings were higher in hospitalized patients in NYC given HCQ

- From multinational registry of patients hospitalized between 12/20/19 and 4/14/20, individuals treated with HCQ had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared to an untreated control group

-  From multinational registry of patients hospitalized between 12/20/19 and 4/14/20, individuals treated with HCQ had a higher risk of clinically significant ventricular arrhythmia compared to an untreated control group

-  Hydroxychloroquine did not substantially reduce symptom severity in patients with early or mild COVID-19.
 
-  As of now no randomized clinical trials reported have shown a positive correlation to COVID-19 recovery through the use of hydroxychloroquine

- A small randomized trial in Shanghai, China by Chen J, Liu D, Liu L, et al. revealed that by day 7, a total of 86% of the patients in the HCQ-treated group and 93% of those in the control group had negative results on viral throat swabs

- Researchers who used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study found no significant difference between new illness and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 infection in the hydroxychloroquine sulfate and placebo groups (11.8% and 14.3%, respectively).

- A study including 176 hospitals in the UK showed no significant difference between COVID-19 patients who received hydroxychloroquine and those who received usual care alone.

Findings opposed to use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as COVID-19 intervention

- In a French open-label non-randomized clinical trial, more patients treated with HCQ tested negative for COVID-19 by  day 6 after inclusion in study

- In a Chinese small randomized clinical trial, researchers reported a faster mean time to clinical recovery in the experimental group treated with HCQ than in the control group

- In a French uncontrolled, non-comparative, observational study, a significant decline of nasopharyngeal viral load and viral carriage duration was noted in patients treated with both HCQ and azithromycin (azm) 

Findings in favor of treating COVID-19 infections with hydroxychloroquine

Toxicities of HCQ

Hydrochloroquine function by increasing pH intracelluarly, affecting the function of hydrolases and the assembly of macromolecules in endosomes. The antimalarial prevents the formation of peptide MHC complexes which stimulate an immunologic response.

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