Baseline use of hydroxychloroquine in systemic lupus erythematosus does not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19

5/7 Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis study (treated before exposed to the virus)

Konig et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217690 (Letter)
Baseline use of hydroxychloroquine in systemic lupus erythematosus does not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19

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Analysis of 80 SLE patients diagnosed with COVID-19, showing the frequency of hospitalisation did not differ between individuals using an antimalarial versus non-users (55% (16/29) vs 57% (29/51), p=ns. Authors suggest that the dosage used may be too low to reach therapeutic levels.

Konig et al., 5/7/2020, retrospective, database analysis, multiple countries, multiple regions, preprint, 11 authors.

risk of hospitalization, 3.0% lower, RR 0.97, p = 0.88, treatment 16 of 29 (55.2%), control 29 of 51 (56.9%).

This study is excluded in meta analysis: not fully adjusting for the baseline risk differences within systemic autoimmune patients.

Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. For an individual study the most serious outcome may have a smaller number of events and lower statistical signficance, however this provides the strongest evidence for the most serious outcomes when combining the results of many trials.

All 344 studies Meta Analysis

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