Hydroxychloroquine is associated with slower viral clearance in clinical COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate disease: A retrospective study

https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.27.20082180

In a retrospective observational study at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi assessment of the efficacy of HCQ  w.r.t  SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance was done.The primary outcome was the time from a confirmed positive nasopharyngeal swab to turn negative. 34 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. Nineteen (55.9%) patients presented with symptoms, and 14 (41.2%) had pneumonia. Only 21 (61.8%) patients received HCQ. The time to SARS-CoV-2 negativity nasopharyngeal test was significantly longer in patients who received HCQ compared to those who did not receive HCQ (17 [13-21] vs. 10 [4-13] days, p=0.023).

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