TUESDAY, May 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Hydroxychloroquine does not improve outcomes in COVID-19, according to two studies published online May 14 in The BMJ.
Matthieu Mahévas, M.D., Ph.D., from Paris-Est Créteil University, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in 181 patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia who required oxygen but not intensive care. A total of 84 patients who received hydroxychloroquine within 48 hours of admission were compared to 89 patients who did not receive hydroxychloroquine. In addition, eight patients received hydroxychloroquine more than 48 hours after admission. The researchers found that survival rates without transfer to the intensive care unit were 76 and 75 percent in the treatment and control groups, respectively (weighted hazard ratio, 0.9; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.4 to 2.1). At day 21, overall survival was 89 and 91 percent in the treatment and control groups, respectively (weighted hazard ratio, 1.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.4 to 3.3).
Wei Tang, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and colleagues randomly assigned 150 patients (148 with mild-to-moderate disease; two with severe disease) admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 to either hydroxychloroquine plus standard of care or standard of care alone. Overall, 109 patients had negative conversion before 28 days; the probability of negative conversion by 28 days was 85.4 and 81.3 percent in the groups receiving standard of care plus hydroxychloroquine and standard of care alone, respectively (difference, 4.1 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, −10.3 to 18.5 percent).
"Overall, these data do not support the addition of hydroxychloroquine to the current standard of care in patients with persistent mild to moderate covid-19 for eliminating the virus," Tang and colleagues write.
Abstract/Full Text - Mahévas
Abstract/Full Text - Tang
