Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40615618›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2025

The PRINCIPLE randomised controlled open label platform trial of hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID19 in community based patients at high risk.

F D Richard Hobbs, Jienchi Dorward, Gail Hayward, Ly-Mee Yu, Benjamin R Saville, Christopher C Butler, PRINCIPLE Investigators

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

7 authors.

F D Richard HobbsNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Richard.hobbs@phc.ox.ac.uk.
Jienchi DorwardNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Gail HaywardNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Ly-Mee YuNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Benjamin R SavilleBerry Consultants, Austin, TX, USA.
Christopher C ButlerNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Christopher.butler@phc.ox.ac.uk.
PRINCIPLE Investigators

Funding

National Institute for Health and Care Research MC_PC_19079UK Research and Innovation CV220-074
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on reducing the need for hospital admission in patients in the community at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 syndromic illness (testing was largely unavailable at the time, hence not microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection), as part of the national open-label, multi-arm, prospective, adaptive platform, randomised clinical trial in community care in the United Kingdom (UK). People aged 65 and over, or aged 50 and over with comorbidities, and who had been unwell for up to 14 days with suspected COVID-19 were randomised to usual care with the addition of hydroxychloroquine, 200 mg twice a day for seven days, or usual care without hydroxychloroquine (control). Participants were recruited based on symptoms and approximately 5% had confirmed SARS-COV2 infection. The primary outcome while hydroxychloroquine was in the trial was hospital admission or death related to suspected COVID-19 infection within 28 days from randomisation. First recruitment was on April 2, 2020, and the hydroxychloroquine arm was suspended by the UK Medicines Regulator on May 22, 2020. 207 were randomised to hydroxychloroquine and 206 to usual care, and 190 and 194 contributed to the primary analysis results presented, respectively. There was no swab result available within 28 days of randomisation for 39% in both groups: 107 (54%) in the hydroxychloroquine group and 111 (55%) in the usual care group tested negative for SARS-Cov-2, and 13 (7%) and 11 (5%) tested positive. 13 participants, (seven (3·7%) in the usual care plus hydroxychloroquine and six (3.1%) in the usual care group were hospitalized (odds ratio 1·04 [95% BCI 0·36 to 3.00], probability of superiority 0·47). There was one serious adverse event, in the usual care group. More people receiving hydroxychloroquine reported nausea. We found no evidence from this treatment arm of the PRINCIPLE trial, stopped early and therefore under-powered for reasons external to the trial, that hydroxychloroquine reduced hospital admission or death in people with suspected, but mostly unconfirmed COVID-19.

Indexed as

Antiviral AgentsCOVID-19 Drug TreatmentHydroxychloroquineAgedAged, 80 and overCOVID-19FemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Treatment OutcomeUnited KingdomAntiviral AgentsHydroxychloroquineHydroxychloroquinePrimary health careRepurposed medicinesSARS-COV-2Serious COVID

Identifiers

PMID40615618
PMCPMC12227643

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Registered trials

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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.