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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Apr;50(4):3000605221090363.
doi: 10.1177/03000605221090363.

Effect of chronic hydroxychloroquine use on COVID-19 risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter retrospective cohort

Ismail A Walbi  1 , Hassan A Albarqi  2 , Nayef Saleh Alghanim  3 , Marzooq Abdullah Albadi  4 , Hesham Mohammed Al Maimouni  5   6 , Saad Ahmed Alkahtani  1 , Ali Mohamed Alshabi  1 , Amer S Alali  7 , Faleh Alqahtani  8 , Amal Hassan Al-Najjar  9 , Mohammad A Hazzazi  6   10 , Deemah S Alanazi  11 , Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Sabei  12 , Omer S Alsaweed  13 , Rahaf K Alajra  13 , Hussain Alqhtani  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Effect of chronic hydroxychloroquine use on COVID-19 risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter retrospective cohort

Ismail A Walbi et al. J Int Med Res. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been used during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic because of its reported anti-viral activity. This study examined the association of chronic HCQ use with the incidence and complications of COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adults with rheumatoid arthritis and/or systemic lupus erythematosus who visited rheumatology clinics in three tertiary hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between January 2019 and December 2020. Patients were categorized into two groups based on HCQ use. Data were obtained from the electronic health record and by interviews with patients. The primary study objective was the incidence of COVID-19 and its complications from March 2020 to February 2021.

Results: Almost 11% of the study cohort was positive for COVID-19, and the incidence of COVID-19 was similar between HCQ users (11.11%) and nonusers (10.86%). Disease complication rates were similar in the study arms, and they mainly included fever, dry cough, fatigue, and breathing difficulty.

Conclusions: This study revealed no significant association between chronic HCQ use and the incidence of COVID-19, and disease complications were similar in the study arms.

Keywords: Hydroxychloroquine; chronic drug use; coronavirus disease 2019; disease complication; drug repurposing; rheumatoid arthritis; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2; systemic lupus erythematosus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study flowchart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms in HCQ users and nonusers. HCQ, hydroxychloroquine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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