No benefit of hydroxychloroquine on SARS-CoV-2 viral load reduction in non-critical hospitalized patients with COVID-19
Klinger Soares Faíco-Filho, Danielle Dias Conte, Luciano Kleber De Souza Luna, Joseane Mayara Almeida Carvalho, Ana Helena Sitta Perosa, Nancy Bellei
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, doi:10.1007/s42770-020-00395-x
Background Some studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an effective drug in reducing the in vitro replication of SARS-CoV-2. However, the in vivo effect of HCQ still unclear. Objectives This study aims to evaluate viral load clearance in patients with COVID-19 who underwent HCQ treatment in comparison with a control group that did not receive the drug. Study design This prospective study comprised consecutive viral load measurements in patients with COVID-19 hospitalized with a moderate illness. Patients received 400 mg of HCQ every 12 h for 10 days according to the medical decision. Nasal swab samples were collected from patients during early, intermediary, and final clinical stage of COVID-19. Results A total of 155 samples were collected from 66 patients with COVID-19 (60% female), with a median age of 58 years. The viral load between studied groups, assumed as a semiquantitative measure of cycle threshold (Ct) values, presented no significant difference within the three consecutive measures (ΔCt) (p > 0.05). We also analyzed the ΔCt viral load at different intervals of sample collection (Δt < 7; 7-12; and > 12 days) without significant differences at any ΔCt (p > 0.05). Conclusion In this study, we did not observe any change in viral load reduction in vivo with the use of HCQ.
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