Efficacy and safety of Hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 pneumonia: uncertainty of data and changing treatment protocols

Abstract

The new coronavirus disease which emerged in Wuhan late in 2019 is caused by SARS CoV2, it was named COVID-19 and declared a pandemic by the world health organization (WHO). Human coronavirus normally causes mild disease. The new COVID-19 emerged from bats to human and it’s associated with highly infectious disease. The disease clinical features range from an asymptomatic state to mild fever, cough, severe respiratory disease, and multiple organ failures. The disease is confirmed by detecting the virus genome using polymerase chain reaction and antibody detection is used for screening. Radiologic imaging is nonspecific but can help in staging lung involvement. Treatment of patients with COVID-19 is generally supportive, however oxygen and ventilatory support might be needed in some of the cases. Dexamethasone proved to decrease mortality in critically ill patients, but up to date no specific treatment or vaccine is available and many drugs are under clinical trials including ritonavir and remdesivir. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) which is an old antimalarial drug, has given hope, but now it’s a victim for information uncertainty and contravention of clinical reports. The objective of this article is to review the current reports on hydroxychloroquine efficacy and safety in the treatment of COVID 19 patients.

Quinoline analogue as a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: ADMET prediction, molecular docking and dynamics simulation analysis

“…Considering the specific chemical structures and mechanisms of action of CQ and HCQ as weak bases and their immunomodulatory activity, HCQ molecule may be a strong likely candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 infections. However, currently, the study of HCQ is limited to clinical trials and, based on its use outside of clinical trials, risks, and advantages, there is still a strong beneficial impact to be shown [22]. Therefore, several clinical research registers for the use of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19 have been listed in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn) [23].…”