Preliminary evidence from a multicenter prospective observational study of the safety and efficacy of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19
Huang et al.,
Preliminary evidence from a multicenter prospective observational study of the safety and efficacy of..,
National Science Review, nwaa113, doi:10.1093/nsr/nwaa113
197 CQ patients, 176 control. Mean time to undetectable viral RNA and duration of fever significantly reduced. No serious adverse events.
time to viral-, 67.0% lower, relative time 0.33, p < 0.001, treatment 197, control 176.
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time to viral-, 59.1% lower, relative time 0.41, p < 0.001, treatment 32, control 37, early treatment.
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Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates
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Huang et al., 28 May 2020, prospective, China, peer-reviewed, 36 authors.
Abstract: National Science Review
7: 1428–1436, 2020
doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa113
Advance access publication 28 May 2020
RESEARCH ARTICLE
(Continued on next page)
∗
Corresponding
authors. E-mails:
pei duanqing@gibh.ac.cn;
tianlin@mail.sysu.edu.cn;
xiajinyu@mail.sysu.edu.cn;
jiangshp@mail.sysu.edu.cn;
nanshan@vip.163.com;
shanhong@mail.sysu.edu.cn
†
Equally contributed to
this work.
Received 19 April 2020;
Revised 8 May 2020;
Accepted 10 May 2020
CLINICAL MEDICINE
Special Section: SARS-CoV-2
Preliminary evidence from a multicenter prospective
observational study of the safety and efficacy of
chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19
Mingxing Huang1,† , Man Li2,3,† , Fei Xiao1,2,† , Pengfei Pang2,3,† , Jiabi Liang4,† ,
Tiantian Tang5,† , Shaoxuan Liu6 , Binghui Chen7 , Jingxian Shu4 , Yingying You8 ,
Yang Li2,3 , Meiwen Tang9 , Jianhui Zhou10 , Guanmin Jiang10 , Jingfen Xiang11 ,
Wenxin Hong12 , Songmei He13 , Zhaoqin Wang14 , Jianhua Feng15 , Changqing Lin16 ,
Yinong Ye17 , Zhilong Wu18 , Yaocai Li19 , Bei Zhong20 , Ruilin Sun21 , Zhongsi Hong1 ,
Jing Liu22 , Huili Chen1 , Xiaohua Wang23 , Zhonghe Li24 , Duanqing Pei25,26,∗ ,
Lin Tian3,∗ , Jinyu Xia1,∗ , Shanping Jiang5,∗ , Nanshan Zhong27,∗
and Hong Shan2,3,∗
ABSTRACT
Effective therapies are urgently needed for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Chloroquine has been proved to
have antiviral effect against coronavirus in vitro. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of
chloroquine with different doses in COVID-19. In this multicenter prospective observational study, we
enrolled patients older than 18 years old with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection excluding critical cases
from 12 hospitals in Guangdong and Hubei Provinces. Eligible patients received chloroquine phosphate
500 mg, orally, once (half dose) or twice (full dose) daily. Patients treated with non-chloroquine therapy
were included as historical controls. The primary endpoint is the time to undetectable viral RNA. Secondary
outcomes include the proportion of patients with undetectable viral RNA by day 10 and 14, hospitalization
time, duration of fever, and adverse events. A total of 197 patients completed chloroquine treatment, and
176 patients were included as historical controls. The median time to achieve an undetectable viral RNA
was shorter in chloroquine than in non-chloroquine (absolute difference in medians −6.0 days; 95% CI
−6.0 to −4.0). The duration of fever is shorter in chloroquine (geometric mean ratio 0.6; 95% CI 0.5 to
0.8). No serious adverse events were observed in the chloroquine group. Patients treated with half dose
experienced lower rate of adverse events than with full dose. Although randomized trials are needed for
further evaluation, this study provides evidence for safety and efficacy of chloroquine in COVID-19 and
suggests that chloroquine can be a cost-effective therapy for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, treatment, chloroquine
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