Pre exposure Hydroxychloroquine use is associated with reduced COVID19 risk in healthcare workers – a Retrospective cohort
SOURCE: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.09.20116806v3
Note: This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Abstract
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND OF STUDY
While several trials are ongoing for treatment of COVID-19, scientific research on chemoprophylaxis is still lacking even though it has potential to flatten the curve allowing us time to complete research on vaccines.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To explore the potential of HCQ as a pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID 19 in health care workers in a tertiary care hospital.
MATERIALS & METHODS
We have conducted a retrospective cohort study among 106 Health Care Workers (HCW) exposed to COVID-19 patients, at a tertiary care hospital in India where there was an abrupt cluster outbreak within on duty personnel. HCWs who had voluntarily taken hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prior to exposure were considered one cohort while those who had not were considered to be the Control group. All participants with a verifiable high risk contact history were tested for COVID-19 by RT-PCR.
RESULTS
The two cohorts were comparable in terms of age, gender, co-morbidities and exposure. The primary outcome was incidence rates of RT-PCR positive COVID-19 infection amongst HCQ users and Controls. ······ [Read more] “Pre exposure Hydroxychloroquine use is associated with reduced COVID19 risk in healthcare workers – a Retrospective cohort”