Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32468425›Full record

SynthesisClinical drug investigation2020

An Updated Systematic Review of the Therapeutic Role of Hydroxychloroquine in Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19).

Saibal Das, Subhrojyoti Bhowmick, Sayali Tiwari, Sukanta Sen

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical drug investigation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Immunomodulatory therapies for COVID-19.Frontiers in medicine · 2022
    Review
  11. Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis induced by hydroxychloroquine.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2021
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. COVID-19: Where is the treatment?World journal of clinical oncology · 2021
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Observational
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Saibal DasDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, 605 006, India.
Subhrojyoti BhowmickDepartment of Pharmacology, KPC Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, 700 032, India. drsubhro@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2599-7532
Sayali TiwariDepartment of Community Medicine, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, Mumbai, 400 022, India.
Sukanta SenDepartment of Pharmacology, ICARE Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Haldia, 721 645, India.
Care Institute of Medical Sciences · INJawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research · INKPC Medical College and Hospital · INLokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveThe world is currently experiencing the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. There is no approved drug for the definitive treatment of the disease. Various drugs are being tried for the treatment of COVID-19, including hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). This study was performed to systematically review the therapeutic role of HCQ in COVID-19 from the available literature.

methodsPubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, ICTRP (WHO), Cochrane Library databases, and two pre-print servers (medRxiv.org and Research Square) were searched for clinical studies that evaluated the therapeutic role of HCQ on COVID-19 until 10 May 2020. The available studies were critically analyzed and the data were extracted.

resultsA total of 663 articles were screened and 12 clinical studies (seven peer-reviewed and published studies and five non-peer-reviewed studies from pre-print servers) with a total sample size of 3543 patients were included. Some of the clinical studies demonstrated good virological and clinical outcomes with HCQ alone or in combination with azithromycin in COVID-19 patients, although the studies had major methodological limitations. Some of the other studies showed negative results with HCQ therapy along with the risk of adverse reactions.

conclusionThe results of efficacy and safety of HCQ in COVID-19, as obtained from the clinical studies, are not satisfactory, although many of these studies had major methodological limitations. Stronger evidence from well-designed robust randomized clinical trials is required before conclusively determining the role of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19. Clinical prudence is required in advocating HCQ as a therapeutic armamentarium in COVID-19.

Indexed as

AnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsAzithromycinClinical Trials as TopicCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19Drug Therapy, CombinationHumansHydroxychloroquinePandemicsPneumonia, ViralAnti-Bacterial AgentsAzithromycinHydroxychloroquine

Identifiers

PMID32468425
PMCPMC7255448
OpenAlexW3029562523

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.