Safety of Hydroxychloroquine Among Outpatient Clinical Trial Participants for COVID-19

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Abstract

Background

Use of hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially in combination with azithromycin, has raised safety concerns. Here, we report safety data from 3 outpatient randomized clinical trials.

Methods

We conducted 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials investigating hydroxychloroquine as pre-exposure prophylaxis, postexposure prophylaxis, and early treatment for COVID-19 using an internet-based design. We excluded individuals with contraindications to hydroxychloroquine. We collected side effects and serious adverse events. We report descriptive analyses of our findings.

Results

We enrolled 2795 participants. The median age of research participants (interquartile range) was 40 (34–49) years, and 59% (1633/2767) reported no chronic medical conditions. Overall 2544 (91%) participants reported side effect data, and 748 (29%) reported at least 1 medication side effect. Side effects were reported in 40% with once-daily, 36% with twice-weekly, 31% with once-weekly hydroxychloroquine, compared with 19% with placebo. The most common side effects were upset stomach or nausea (25% with once-daily, 19% with twice-weekly, and 18% with once-weekly hydroxychloroquine, vs 11% for placebo), followed by diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain (23% for once-daily, 17% twice-weekly, and 13% once-weekly hydroxychloroquine, vs 7% for placebo). Two individuals were hospitalized for atrial arrhythmias, 1 on placebo and 1 on twice-weekly hydroxychloroquine. No sudden deaths occurred.

Conclusions

Data from 3 outpatient COVID-19 trials demonstrated that gastrointestinal side effects were common but mild with the use of hydroxychloroquine, while serious side effects were rare. No deaths occurred related to hydroxychloroquine. Randomized clinical trials, in cohorts of healthy outpatients, can safely investigate whether hydroxychloroquine is efficacious for COVID-19.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier

NCT04308668 for postexposure prophylaxis and early treatment trials; NCT04328467 for pre-exposure prophylaxis trial.

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Most cited references 27

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In Vitro Antiviral Activity and Projection of Optimized Dosing Design of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Xueting Yao, Fei Ye, Miao Zhang … (2020)

Abstract Background The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first broke out in Wuhan (China) and subsequently spread worldwide. Chloroquine has been sporadically used in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection. Hydroxychloroquine shares the same mechanism of action as chloroquine, but its more tolerable safety profile makes it the preferred drug to treat malaria and autoimmune conditions. We propose that the immunomodulatory effect of hydroxychloroquine also may be useful in controlling the cytokine storm that occurs late-phase in critically ill SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Currently, there is no evidence to support the use of hydroxychloroquine in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods The pharmacological activity of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine was tested using SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero cells. Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models (PBPK) were implemented for both drugs separately by integrating their in vitro data. Using the PBPK models, hydroxychloroquine concentrations in lung fluid were simulated under 5 different dosing regimens to explore the most effective regimen whilst considering the drug’s safety profile. Results Hydroxychloroquine (EC50=0.72 μM) was found to be more potent than chloroquine (EC50=5.47 μM) in vitro. Based on PBPK models results, a loading dose of 400 mg twice daily of hydroxychloroquine sulfate given orally, followed by a maintenance dose of 200 mg given twice daily for 4 days is recommended for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it reached three times the potency of chloroquine phosphate when given 500 mg twice daily 5 days in advance. Conclusions Hydroxychloroquine was found to be more potent than chloroquine to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.

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A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19

David Boulware, Matthew Pullen, Ananta Bangdiwala … (2020)

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) occurs after exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). For persons who are exposed, the standard of care is observation and quarantine. Whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent symptomatic infection after SARS-CoV-2 exposure is unknown. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial across the United States and parts of Canada testing hydroxychloroquine as postexposure prophylaxis. We enrolled adults who had household or occupational exposure to someone with confirmed Covid-19 at a distance of less than 6 ft for more than 10 minutes while wearing neither a face mask nor an eye shield (high-risk exposure) or while wearing a face mask but no eye shield (moderate-risk exposure). Within 4 days after exposure, we randomly assigned participants to receive either placebo or hydroxychloroquine (800 mg once, followed by 600 mg in 6 to 8 hours, then 600 mg daily for 4 additional days). The primary outcome was the incidence of either laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 or illness compatible with Covid-19 within 14 days. Results We enrolled 821 asymptomatic participants. Overall, 87.6% of the participants (719 of 821) reported a high-risk exposure to a confirmed Covid-19 contact. The incidence of new illness compatible with Covid-19 did not differ significantly between participants receiving hydroxychloroquine (49 of 414 [11.8%]) and those receiving placebo (58 of 407 [14.3%]); the absolute difference was −2.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval, −7.0 to 2.2; P=0.35). Side effects were more common with hydroxychloroquine than with placebo (40.1% vs. 16.8%), but no serious adverse reactions were reported. Conclusions After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure. (Funded by David Baszucki and Jan Ellison Baszucki and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04308668.)

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Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread

Martin J. Vincent, Eric Bergeron, Suzanne Benjannet … (2005)

Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV). No effective prophylactic or post-exposure therapy is currently available. Results We report, however, that chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS-CoV infection of primate cells. These inhibitory effects are observed when the cells are treated with the drug either before or after exposure to the virus, suggesting both prophylactic and therapeutic advantage. In addition to the well-known functions of chloroquine such as elevations of endosomal pH, the drug appears to interfere with terminal glycosylation of the cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. This may negatively influence the virus-receptor binding and abrogate the infection, with further ramifications by the elevation of vesicular pH, resulting in the inhibition of infection and spread of SARS CoV at clinically admissible concentrations. Conclusion Chloroquine is effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture. Favorable inhibition of virus spread was observed when the cells were either treated with chloroquine prior to or after SARS CoV infection. In addition, the indirect immunofluorescence assay described herein represents a simple and rapid method for screening SARS-CoV antiviral compounds.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Open Forum Infect Dis

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Open Forum Infect Dis

Journal ID (publisher-id): ofid

Title: Open Forum Infectious Diseases

Publisher: Oxford University Press (US )

ISSN (Electronic): 2328-8957

Publication date Collection: November 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 19 October 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 19 October 2020

Volume: 7

Issue: 11

Electronic Location Identifier: ofaa500

Affiliations

[1 ] University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

[2 ] Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville, Tennessee, USA

[3 ] Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

[4 ] George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation , Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

[5 ] Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

[6 ] Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre , Montreal, Quebec, Canada

[7 ] Clinical Practice Assessment Unit, Department of Medicine, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec, Canada

[8 ] Lawson Research Institute, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Center , London, Ontario

[9 ] McMaster University , Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Author notes

Correspondence: Sarah Lofgren, MD, 689 23rd Avenue S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 ( lofg0020@ 123456umn.edu ).

Author information

Sarah M Lofgren http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6717-2614

Katelyn A Pastick http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1306-1713

Radha Rajasingham http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5531-0231

Article

Publisher ID: ofaa500

DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa500

PMC ID: 7654376

SO-VID: 3a4b5162-b555-48dc-81ec-b29beafcf7b9

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

History

Date received : 17 July 2020

Date: 13 October 2020

Date accepted : 15 October 2020

Date: 10 November 2020

Page count

Pages: 7

Funding

Funded by: University of Minnesota, DOI 10.13039/100007249;

Funded by: National Institute of Mental Health, DOI 10.13039/100000025;

Award ID: K23MH121220

Funded by: Fogarty International Center, DOI 10.13039/100000061;

Award ID: D43TW009345

Funded by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, DOI 10.13039/100000060;

Award ID: K08AI134262

Award ID: K23AI138851

Award ID: T32AI055433

Funded by: National Institutes of Health, DOI 10.13039/100000002;

Award ID: T32GM007347

Award ID: F30CA236157

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Safety of Hydroxychloroquine Among Outpatient Clinical Trial Participants for COVID-19

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Abstract

Background

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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 27

In Vitro Antiviral Activity and Projection of Optimized Dosing Design of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19

Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread

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