Use of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Every Clinician Should Know

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Abstract

Two medications often used for treatment of immune-mediated conditions, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, have recently attracted widespread interest as potential therapies for coronavirus disease 2019. The authors of this commentary provide guidance for clinical decision making for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 as well as for patients with rheumatologic conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis

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A randomized study of the effect of withdrawing hydroxychloroquine sulfate in systemic lupus erythematosus. The Canadian Hydroxychloroquine Study Group.

J Sampalis, V Bykerk, JM Esdaile (1991)

The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine is thought to be effective in controlling some of the manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus, but its effectiveness has not been demonstrated conclusively. We conducted a six-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of discontinuing hydroxychloroquine sulfate treatment in 47 patients with clinically stable systemic lupus erythematosus. The patients were randomly assigned to continue their same dose of hydroxychloroquine (n = 25) or to receive placebo (n = 22) for 24 weeks. Ten patients in each group were also taking prednisone. The relative risk of a clinical flare-up, defined as the development of specific clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus or an increase in their severity, was 2.5 times higher (95 percent confidence interval, 1.08 to 5.58) in the patients taking placebo than in those continuing to take hydroxychloroquine (16 of 22 patients vs. 9 of 25 had flare-ups), and the time to a flare-up was shorter (P = 0.02). The relative risk of a severe exacerbation of disease that required withdrawal from the study was 6.1 times higher (95 percent confidence interval, 0.72 to 52.44) for the patients taking placebo (5 of 22 patients vs. 1 of 25 had severe exacerbations of disease). Changes in the dose of prednisone were not different in the two groups. Patients with quiescent systemic lupus erythematosus who are taking hydroxychloroquine are less likely to have a clinical flare-up if they are maintained on the drug.