Safety of hydroxychloroquine in healthcare workers for COVID-19 prophylaxis
Nilima A Kshirsagar, Atiya R Faruqui, Denis Xavier, Sandhya K Kamat, Sujith J Chandy, Bikash Medhi, Raakhi K Tripathi, Yashashri C Shetty, Johnmichael Raj, Sandeep Kaushal, S Balakrishnan, Shubham Atal, Santanu K Tripathi, Dinesh K Badyal, Harihar Dikshit, Sukalyansaha Roy, Niyati Trivedi, Suparna Chatterjee, Chetna Desai, C D Tripathi, Nirmala N Rege, Pooja Gupta, R Raveendran, Rajni Kaul
Indian Journal of Medical Research, doi:10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_2294_20
Background & objectives: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), reported to inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in in vitro studies, has been recommended for prophylaxis of COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs). The objective of this study was to assess short-term adverse events (AEs) of HCQ in HCWs.
Methods: This cross-sectional study among consenting HCWs taking prophylaxis and working in hospitals with COVID-19 patients used online forms to collect details of HCWs, comorbidities, prophylactic drugs used and AEs after the first dose of HCQ. Verification of dose and AEs was done by personal contact. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to determine the effect of age, gender and dose of HCQ on AE. Results: Of the 1303 HCWs included, 98.4 per cent (n=1282) took HCQ and 66 per cent (n=861) took 800 mg as first day's dose. Among the 19.9 per cent (n=259) reporting AEs, 1.5 per cent (n=20) took treatment for AE, none were hospitalized and three discontinued HCQ. Gastrointestinal AEs were the most common (172, 13.2%), with less in older [odds ratio (OR) 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35-
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