ArticleAntiviral research2022
Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin used alone or combined are not effective against SARS-CoV-2 ex vivo and in a hamster model.
Article in Antiviral research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Saline nasal irrigation and gargling in COVID-19: Part II. Outcomes in Omicron and risk-benefit for self-care.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- How Can Pharmacology Help Us Overcome the Challenges of Drug Repositioning as Antivirals to Treat Emerging Pathogens? The Example of Covid-19.Clinical and translational science · 2026Review
- Assessment of Favipiravir and Remdesivir in Combination for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Golden Hamsters.Viruses · 2024Article
- Article
- Pan-antiviral effects of a PIKfyve inhibitor on respiratory virus infection in human nasal epithelium and mice.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2024Article
- An impact of age on respiratory syncytial virus infection in air-liquid-interface culture bronchial epithelium.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Additively manufactured electrodes for the electrochemical detection of hydroxychloroquine.Talanta · 2022Article
- Need for a Standardized Translational Drug Development Platform: Lessons Learned from the Repurposing of Drugs for COVID-19.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- Antiparasitic Drugs against SARS-CoV-2: A Comprehensive Literature Survey.Microorganisms · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Drug repositioning has been used extensively since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to identify antiviral molecules for use in human therapeutics. Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have shown inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 replication in different cell lines. Based on such in vitro data and despite the weakness of preclinical assessment, many clinical trials were set up using these molecules. In the present study, we show that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone or combined does not block SARS-CoV-2 replication in human bronchial airway epithelia. When tested in a Syrian hamster model, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin administrated alone or combined displayed no significant effect on viral replication, clinical course of the disease and lung impairments, even at high doses. Hydroxychloroquine quantification in lung tissues confirmed strong exposure to the drug, above in vitro inhibitory concentrations. Overall, this study does not support the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as antiviral drugs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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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.