key: cord-339838-8okrjbfn
authors: Wang, Ya‐Ling; Wang, Shih‐Han; Yang, Ai‐Yu
title: Pharmacist's perspective on HCQ treatment of COVID‐19
date: 2020-06-12
journal: Kaohsiung J Med Sci
DOI: 10.1002/kjm2.12249
sha: 
doc_id: 339838
cord_uid: 8okrjbfn

nan

COVID-19 have been published. Since HCQ is widely used for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we will use the pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic (PD/PK) data of HCQ to discuss the role of HCQ in COVID-19 treatment.

After oral absorption, HCQ is widely distributed in various tissues in the body. According to the results of animal experiments, the tissues with the most HCQ distribution were the lungs, with a concentration of up to 227 times that of plasma, followed by the spleen, liver, and kidney. 1 This finding is similar to another in-vitro study on Although HCQ is safer and more effective than Chloroquine, special attention should be paid to the interaction and side effects when it is used with Azithromycin. Especially in terms of cardiovascular, both HCQ and Azithromycin are likely to cause arrhythmias (such as QT prolongation and torsades de points), and combined use will increase the incidence, which was also observed by Molina. 4 There's no guidance for the treatment of COVID-19 has indicated that the dose of HCQ can be calculated according to body weight and adjusted according to different races. Further studies are needed in the future to provide more comprehensive data.

All authors declare no conflict of interest. 

Tissue distribution of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and desethylchloroquine in the rat

In vitro antiviral activity and projection of optimized dosing design of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial

No evidence of rapid antiviral clearance or clinical benefit with the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in patients with severe COVID-19 infection

Observational study of hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19