SynthesisTravel medicine and infectious disease
Efficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 infection: A meta-review of systematic reviews and an updated meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Travel medicine and infectious disease. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19: An umbrella review.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019: Rapid updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Reviews in medical virology · 2022Pooled it
- Navigating Therapeutic Frontiers: A Meta-review and Meta-analysis of COVID-19 Treatment Options.Journal of research in pharmacy practice · 2026Review
- Incorporating preprints in systematic reviews: a preliminary study of a novel method for rapid evidence synthesis.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2025Article
- Prevalence, patterns, drivers, and perceived benefits of herbal medicine use in COVID-19 patients in Qatar.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Drug Repurposing and Natural Products Against SARS-CoV-2: A Comprehensive Review.Clinical pharmacology : advances and applications · 2024Review
- Real-Life Data on Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine with or Without Azithromycin in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Analysis in Brazil.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2023Article
- Drugs for COVID-19 Treatment: A New Challenge.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2023Review
- The Quest for Secondary Pharmaceuticals: Drug Repurposing/Chiral-Switches Combination Strategy.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2023Review
- Vitamin D prescribing practices among clinical practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Assessment of Recovery Time, Worsening, and Death among Inpatients and Outpatients with COVID-19, Treated with Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine plus Azithromycin Combination in Burkina Faso.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Observational
- Molecular Insights of SARS-CoV-2 Antivirals Administration: A Balance between Safety Profiles and Impact on Cardiovascular Phenotypes.Biomedicines · 2022Review
- Current treatment in COVID-19 disease: a rapid review.Drugs in context · 2021Review
- A quantitative framework for exploring exit strategies from the COVID-19 lockdown.Chaos, solitons, and fractals · 2020Article
- Effect of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin Combination Use in COVID-19 Patients - An Umbrella Review.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineReview
- Safety of hydroxychloroquine in healthcare workers for COVID-19 prophylaxis.The Indian journal of medical researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo synthesize findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the efficacy and safety of chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with or without Azithromycin for treating COVID-19, and to update the evidence using a meta-analysis.
methodsA comprehensive search was carried out in electronic databases for systematic reviews, meta-analyses and experimental studies which investigated the efficacy and safety of CQ, HCQ with or without Azithromycin to treat COVID-19. Findings from the reviews were synthesised using tables and forest plots and the quality effect model was used for the updated meta-analysis. The main outcomes were mortality, the need for intensive care services, disease exacerbation, viral clearance and occurrence of adverse events.
resultsThirteen reviews with 40 primary studies were included. Two meta-analyses reported a high risk of mortality, with ORs of 2.2 and 3.0, and the two others found no association between HCQ and mortality. Findings from two meta-analyses showed that HCQ with Azithromycin increased the risk of mortality, with similar ORs of 2.5. The updated meta-analysis of experimental studies showed that the drugs were not effective in reducing mortality (RR 1.1, 95%CI 1.0-1.3, I
conclusionThere is conclusive evidence that CQ and HCQ, with or without Azithromycin are not effective in treating COVID-19 or its exacerbation. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO: CRD42020191353.
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Registered trials
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.