Hydroxychloroquine pre-exposure prophylaxis provides no protection against COVID-19 among health care workers: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in North India.
J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol
; 33(1): 103-107, 2022 Jan 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1613394
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
The use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prophylaxis has been recommended by the National task force constituted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the prevention of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs). However, this recommendation was based essentially on the preclinical data and limited clinical experience. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HCQ as a pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 infection among Indian HCWs.METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs of a tertiary care hospital in north India. The HCQ prophylaxis was initiated among 996 HCWs and they were followed up to 8 weeks for conversion to COVID-19 positive status and any adverse drug reaction (ADR).RESULTS:
About 10.3% of the study participants were tested positive for COVID-19 which was comparable to the positivity rate among HCWs not taking HCQ prophylaxis (9.7%).CONCLUSIONS:
HCQ was well tolerated at a weekly dose of 400 mg for 8 weeks but provided no additional benefit in prevention of COVID-19 among HCWs.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
/
COVID-19
/
COVID-19 Drug Treatment
/
Hydroxychloroquine
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol
Journal subject:
Pharmacology
/
Physiology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jbcpp-2021-0221
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