A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19
David R Boulware, Matthew F Pullen, Ananta S Bangdiwala, Katelyn A Pastick, Sarah M Lofgren, Elizabeth C Okafor, Caleb P Skipper, Alanna A Nascene, Melanie R Nicol, Mahsa Abassi, Nicole W Engen, Matthew P Cheng, Derek LaBar, Sylvain A Lother, Lauren J MacKenzie, Glen Drobot, Nicole Marten, Ryan Zarychanski, Lauren E Kelly, Ilan S Schwartz, Emily G McDonald, Radha Rajasingham, Todd C Lee, Kathy H Hullsiek, David R Boulware, Matthew F Pullen, Ananta S Bangdiwala, Katelyn A Pastick, Sarah M Lofgren, Elizabeth C Okafor, Caleb P Skipper, Alanna A Nascene, Melanie R Nicol, Mahsa Abassi, Nicole W Engen, Matthew P Cheng, Derek LaBar, Sylvain A Lother, Lauren J MacKenzie, Glen Drobot, Nicole Marten, Ryan Zarychanski, Lauren E Kelly, Ilan S Schwartz, Emily G McDonald, Radha Rajasingham, Todd C Lee, Kathy H Hullsiek
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) occurs after exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). For persons who are exposed, the standard of care is observation and quarantine. Whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent symptomatic infection after SARS-CoV-2 exposure is unknown.
Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial across the United States and parts of Canada testing hydroxychloroquine as postexposure prophylaxis. We enrolled adults who had household or occupational exposure to someone with confirmed Covid-19 at a distance of less than 6 ft for more than 10 minutes while wearing neither a face mask nor an eye shield (high-risk exposure) or while wearing a face mask but no eye shield (moderate-risk exposure). Within 4 days after exposure, we randomly assigned participants to receive either placebo or hydroxychloroquine (800 mg once, followed by 600 mg in 6 to 8 hours, then 600 mg daily for 4 additional days). The primary outcome was the incidence of either laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 or illness compatible with Covid-19 within 14 days.
Results: We enrolled 821 asymptomatic participants. Overall, 87.6% of the participants (719 of 821) reported a high-risk exposure to a confirmed Covid-19 contact. The incidence of new illness compatible with Covid-19 did not differ significantly between participants receiving hydroxychloroquine (49 of 414 [11.8%]) and those receiving placebo (58 of 407 [14.3%]); the absolute difference was -2.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval, -7.0 to 2.2; P = 0.35). Side effects were more common with hydroxychloroquine than with placebo (40.1% vs. 16.8%), but no serious adverse reactions were reported.
Conclusions: After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure. (Funded by David Baszucki and Jan Ellison Baszucki and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04308668.).
Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Medical Society.
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Source: PubMed