Safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in 152 outpatients with confirmed COVID-19: A pilot observational study

Abstract

We investigated the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine for empirical treatment of outpatients with confirmed COVID-19. Methods: In this prospective, single-center study, we enrolled ambulatory outpatients with COVID-19 confirmed by a molecular method who received hydroxychloroquine. The patients were divided into low-and moderaterisk groups based on the Tisdale risk score for drug-associated QT prolongation, and the QT interval was corrected for heart rate using the Bazett formula (QTc). The QTc interval was measured by electrocardiography both pretreatment (QTc1) and 4 h after the administration of hydroxychloroquine (QTc2). The difference between the QTc1 and QTc2 intervals was defined as the ΔQTc. The QTc1 and QTc2 intervals and ΔQTc values were compared between the two risk groups. Results: The median and interquartile range (IQR) age of the patients was 47.0 (36.2-62) years, and there were 78 men and 74 women. The median (IQR) QTc1 interval lengthened from 425.0 (407.2-425.0) to 430.0 (QTc2; 412.0-443.0) milliseconds (ms). However, this was not considered an increased risk of ventricular tachycardia associated with a prolonged QTc interval requiring drug discontinuation, because none of the patients had a ΔQTc of >60 ms or a QTc2 of >500 ms. Moreover, the median (quartiles; minimum-maximum) ΔQTc value was higher in patients in the moderate-risk group than those in the low-risk group (

COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Report on the First 124 Consecutive Patients Treated at Home

“…Similar results have been reported in other non-randomized studies (Sulaiman et al 2020;Mohana et al 2021;Sogut et al 2021).…”

QT interval and repolarization dispersion changes during the administration of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine with/without azithromycin in early COVID 19 pandemic: A prospective observational study from two academic hospitals in Indonesia

“…The number of patients with peak QTc > 500 ms were not significantly different 25 . A prospective study confirmed that HCQ was harmless for COVID‐19 patients and did not associate with a risk of arrhythmia induced by QTc prolongation 32 …”

“… 25 A prospective study confirmed that HCQ was harmless for COVID‐19 patients and did not associate with a risk of arrhythmia induced by QTc prolongation. 32 …”

Efeitos farmacológicos da hidroxicloroquina em pacientes com COVID-19: Revisão sistemática da literatura

“…In observed observational studies, the outcomes below have been reported. In these studies, it was reported that a percentage of participants received from HCQ had prolonged QTc intervals (Ip et al, 2021;Sogut et al, 2021;Fteiha et al, 2020). In the study by Sogut et al (2021), 91.4% of the participants showed significant improvement, however 13 had adverse events (Sogut et al, 2021).…”

“…In these studies, it was reported that a percentage of participants received from HCQ had prolonged QTc intervals (Ip et al, 2021;Sogut et al, 2021;Fteiha et al, 2020). In the study by Sogut et al (2021), 91.4% of the participants showed significant improvement, however 13 had adverse events (Sogut et al, 2021). However, the results of these studies were very limited given the small number of participants.…”