Hydroxychloroquine as a Chemoprophylactic Agent for COVID-19: A Clinico-Pharmacological Review.
Front Pharmacol
; 11: 593099, 2020.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1005534
ABSTRACT
Hydroxychloroquine has gained much attention as one of the candidate drugs that can be repurposed as a prophylactic agent against SARS-CoV-2, the agent responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to high transmissibility and presence of asymptomatic carriers and presymptomatic transmission, there is need for a chemoprophylactic agent to protect the high-risk population. In this review, we dissect the currently available evidence on hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis from a clinical and pharmacological point of view. In vitro studies on Vero cells show that hydroxychloroquine effectively inhibits SARS-CoV-2 by affecting viral entry and viral transport via endolysosomes. However, this efficacy has failed to replicate in in vivo animal models as well as in most clinical observational studies and clinical trials assessing pre-exposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis in healthcare workers. An analysis of the pharmacology of HCQ in COVID-19 reveals certain possible reasons for this failure-a pharmacokinetic failure due to failure to achieve adequate drug concentration at the target site and attenuation of its inhibitory effect due to the presence of TMPRSS2 in airway epithelial cells. Currently, many clinical trials on HCQ prophylaxis in HCW are ongoing; these factors should be taken into account. Using higher doses of HCQ for prophylaxis is likely to be associated with increased safety concerns; thus, it may be worthwhile to focus on other possible interventions.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Pharmacol
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fphar.2020.593099
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS