Effects of Hydroxychloroquine on Covid-19 in Intensive Care Unit Patients: Preliminary Results

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.106136

A single-center retrospective study was performed from March to April 2020 in an ICU of a university hospital. All patients admitted to our ICU with a confirmed Covid-19 pneumonia and treated by hydroxychloroquine were included. We compared 17 patients in whom the hydroxychloroquine plasma concentration was in the therapeutic target (on-target) and 12 patients in whom the plasma concentration was below the target (off-target). The follow-up of patients was 15 days. No association was found between hydroxychloroquine plasma concentration and viral load evolution (p=0.77). There was no significant difference between the two groups for the duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, in-hospital mortality, and 15-days mortality. This finding suggests that hydroxychloroquine administration for Covid-19 patients hospitalized in ICU is not associated with improved outcomes. These results need confirmation by larger multicenter studies.

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