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A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to explore the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis for COVID-19.
In coronavirus disease-2019
(COVID-19) patients, prophylactic hydroxychloroquine was found to have no
clinical benefit and displayed an elevated risk of adverse events in comparison
with placebo or no prophylaxis.
A
systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to explore the efficacy and
safety of hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis for COVID-19.
Databases like clinicaltrials.gov, EMBASE,
the Cochrane COVID-19 Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Epistemonikos
COVID-19, and the World Health
Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched for
randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The pooled relative risks (RRs) were
estimated for dichotomous outcomes with corresponding 95% confidence intervals
(CIs) utilizing a random-effect model. Four RCTs (n = 4921) fulfilling the
eligibility criteria were identified.
Compared to placebo, hydroxychloroquine use
did not minimize the risks of developing coronavirus infection (RR 0.82,
moderate certainty), mortality (RR 3.26, low certainty), or hospitalization (RR
0.72, moderate certainty). Furthermore, hydroxychloroquine usage elevated the
risk of adverse events (RR 2.76, moderate certainty).
Although pharmacologic prophylaxis
is an attractive preventive strategy against severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2), hydroxychloroquine failed to show clinical benefit
and demonstrated a higher risk of adverse events compared to placebo or no
prophylaxis.
Plos One
The efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 prophylaxis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials
Kimberley Lewis et al.
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