Coronavirus (COVID-19) Collection
Safety and tolerability of hydroxychloroquine in health care workers and first responders for the prevention of COVID-19: WHIP COVID-19 Study
In December 2019, a novel disease caused by a new virus now known as SARS-CoV-2, commonly referred to as COVID-19, was identified in Wuhan, China (Huang et al, 2020). Since then, this deadly pandemic infection has spread worldwide (with more than 261 million cases and more than 5 million deaths as of November 2021), with observed case-fatality ratios ranging between 0.9% to 7.9% (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html ) (Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, 2021).Hydroxychloroquine as a primary prophylactic agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection: A cohort study
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been shown to be in-vitro inhibitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in infected Vero cells (Liu et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Yao et al., 2020). This contributed to the hypothesis that such drugs could be used as prophylaxis for SARS-CoV-2 infection and for treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hydroxychloroquine is used for long-term treatment of several rheumatic diseases; it has a favourable safety profile (Ruiz-Irastorza et al., 2010; Ponticelli and Moroni, 2017) and a low cost (Ponticelli and Moroni, 2017), which is a key point when facing a pandemic.Positive impact of oral hydroxychloroquine and povidone-iodine throat spray for COVID-19 prophylaxis: An open-label randomized trial
Until mass-vaccination is successfully implemented globally, non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) are the only proven measures to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 (Lee et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2020; Wiersinga et al., 2020). Stringent measures have been imposed by most countries to restrict physical movements, including closing borders, schools, restaurants, bars, and religious services, while targeted quarantine limits movement of identified contacts (Lee et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2020).A call to caution when hydroxychloroquine is given to elderly patients with COVID-19
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic initiated an urgent search for safe, effective treatments. Repurposing approved drugs for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can save considerable effort, time and costs (Krishna et al., 2020). These drugs must be suitable for use in elderly patients and those with underlying health conditions as these groups are at particular risk of severe disease and complications.No clinical benefit in mortality associated with hydroxychloroquine treatment in patients with COVID-19
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As of June 22, 2020, a total of 2,275,645 COVID-19 cases and 119,923 related deaths had been reported in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Reports from around the world indicate that this disease will continue to spread with the potential to cause severe illness in 10%–20% of those infected and to lead to hospitalization, ICU admission, ventilator support, and death.An umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses evaluating positive and negative outcomes of Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine therapy
Hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine (HCQ/CQ), broadly used antimalarial medications, are also some of the most widely used immunosuppressant drugs in rheumatology (Schrezenmeier and Dorner, 2020); they are included in the therapeutic guidelines for systemic lupus erythematosus (Fanouriakis et al., 2019) and are also considered for the treatment of other autoimmune diseases, such as antiphospholipid syndrome (Tektonidou et al., 2019), Sjogren’s syndrome (Ramos-Casals et al., 2020), and rheumatoid arthritis (Smolen et al., 2020).Predictors and outcomes of healthcare-associated infections in COVID-19 patients
Secondary infections after viral illnesses occur frequently and may lead to adverse outcomes. In previous influenza epidemics, for example, many deaths were the direct result of secondary bacterial pneumonia (Morens et al., 2008). Although seemingly common, these infections remain poorly characterized. In a few small studies during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic (Dhanoa et al., 2011), approximately 19% of cases were reported to have secondary bacterial infections, of which Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common isolate (MacIntyre et al., 2018).Why we should be more careful using hydroxychloroquine in influenza season during COVID-19 pandemic?
One of the most commonly used first-line treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with or without azithromycin (AZT) (Yao et al., 2020). HCQ is used for autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus and is reported to be a safe and well-tolerated drug (Tang et al., 2012). It is also known to reduce the cardiovascular risks in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Sharma et al., 2016). On the other hand, it inhibits the voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels and prolongs repolarization (QT) of the cardiac cycle, which might increase the risk of Torsade de Pointes (TdP) and sudden cardiac arrest (Chorin et al., 2020; Jankelson et al., 2020; Meeting, 2017).Comparison of antiviral effect for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases between lopinavir/ritonavir versus hydroxychloroquine: A nationwide propensity score-matched cohort study
Since the first emerging in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly around the world, infecting over 38 million people globally and resulting in 1,089,047 deaths as of October 15, 2020 (WHO, 2020). To bring an end to this health crisis, vaccines are under development, but they are likely 1–2 years away. It is thus very important to minimize person-to-person transmission.Hydroxychloroquine Safety Outcome within Approved Therapeutic Protocol for COVID-19 Outpatients in Saudi Arabia
COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a pandemic infection that has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Global healthcare systems had faced multiple challenges varying from the high number of visitors to lack of approved therapeutically options, since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 late 2019. Extensive efforts have been made to explore effective therapeutics against the virus globally [1]. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there is no current evidence to recommend any specific anti-COVID-19 treatment for patients with confirmed COVID-19 [2].Early hydroxychloroquine but not chloroquine use reduces ICU admission in COVID-19 patients
After the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019, the new coronavirus spread around the world, resulting in a pandemic. Unfortunately, there is still no proven effective drug or vaccine available against COVID-19, and hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are at high risk for admission to the ICU (10–20%), with 3–10% of patients requiring intubation, and 2–5% of patients dying (Guan et al., 2020a).The continued dilemma about the usage of hydroxychloroquine: Respite is in randomized control trials
I read with interest the retrospective cohort study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases by Arshad et al., who report that treatment with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) alone and in combination with Azithromycin was associated with a reduction in COVID-19 associated mortality. I congratulate the authors, but I have noted a few limitations in the study, which may constrain the application of the study's results in routine clinical practice.Treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and combination in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
As of May 27, 2020, there were over 1,678,843 confirmed cases of COVID-19 claiming more than 100,000 lives in the Unites States (CDC, 2020). Currently there is no known effective therapy or vaccine. The urgent need for therapeutic agents has resulted in repurposing and redeployment of experimental agents (McCreary and Pogue, 2020; Sanders et al., 2020).
