No Role of HCQ in COVID-19 Prophylaxis: A Survey amongst Indian Doctors

Datta et al., Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination, S6:1000002, Nov 2020
Case 22% improvement lower risk ← → higher risk HCQ for COVID-19  Datta et al.  PROPHYLAXIS Is pre-exposure prophylaxis with HCQ beneficial for COVID-19? Retrospective 281 patients in India Fewer cases with HCQ (not stat. sig., p=0.47) c19early.org Datta et al., J. Vaccines & Vaccinatio.., Nov 2020 0 0.5 1 1.5 2+ RR
HCQ for COVID-19
1st treatment shown to reduce risk in March 2020, now with p < 0.00000000001 from 424 studies, used in 59 countries.
Lower risk for mortality, hospitalization, progression, recovery, cases, and viral clearance.
No treatment is 100% effective. Protocols combine treatments.
6,300+ studies for 210+ treatments. c19early.org
Meta Analysis
Survey of Indian doctors not finding a significant effect of HCQ prophylaxis.
Although the 22% fewer cases is not statistically significant, it is consistent with the significant 29% fewer cases [21‑35%] from meta analysis of the 82 cases results to date.
Important missing comments or errors? Let us know.
risk of case, 22.1% lower, RR 0.78, p = 0.47, treatment 16 of 146 (11.0%), control 19 of 135 (14.1%), NNT 32.
Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates
Datta et al., 6 Nov 2020, retrospective, India, peer-reviewed, 7 authors.
$0 $500 $1,000+ Efficacy vs. cost for COVID-19 treatment protocols c19early.org December 2025 India United Kingdom Russia USA Sudan Angola Colombia Kenya Mozambique Pakistan Argentina Vietnam Peru Philippines Spain Brazil Italy France Japan China Uzbekistan Nepal Ethiopia Iran Ghana Mexico South Korea Germany Bangladesh Saudi Arabia Algeria Morocco Yemen Poland Uganda Venezuela Nigeria Egypt Bolivia Taiwan Zambia Fiji Bosnia-Herzegovina Ukraine Côte d'Ivoire Bulgaria Greece Slovakia Singapore Iceland New Zealand Czechia Mongolia Israel Trinidad and Tobago Hong Kong North Macedonia Belarus Qatar Panama Serbia CAR Chad Syria India favored low-cost treatments.The average efficacy of treatments was moderate.Low-cost treatments improve early treatment, andprovide complementary/synergistic benefits. More effective More expensive 75% 50% 25% ≤0%
$0 $500 $1,000+ Efficacy vs. cost for COVID-19treatment protocols worldwide c19early.org December 2025 India United Kingdom Russia USA Sudan Angola Colombia Kenya Mozambique Pakistan Argentina Vietnam Peru Philippines Spain Brazil Italy France Japan China Uzbekistan Nepal Ethiopia Iran Ghana Mexico South Korea Germany Bangladesh Saudi Arabia Algeria Morocco Yemen Poland Thailand Uganda Venezuela Nigeria Egypt Bolivia Taiwan Zambia Fiji Ukraine Côte d'Ivoire Eritrea Bulgaria Greece Slovakia Singapore New Zealand Czechia Mongolia Israel Trinidad and Tobago North Macedonia Belarus Qatar Panama Benin Serbia CAR Syria India favored low-cost treatments.The average efficacy was moderate.Low-cost protocols improve early treatment,and add complementary/synergistic benefits. More effective More expensive 75% 50% 25% ≤0%
No Role of HCQ in COVID-19 Prophylaxis: A Survey amongst Indian Doctors
Debasis Datta, Samit Ghosal, Binayak Sinha, Sujata Datta, Twisha Chakraborty, Kalyan Kumar Gangopadhyay, Arup Ratan Dutta
The COVID-19 pandemic is being tackled on two fronts-prevention and treatment. In addition to behavioural strategies and vaccines (eagerly awaited), pharmacotherapy is also being employed in certain regions as a preventive strategy. In India, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), ivermectin, a variety of vitamin supplements are being used, with HCQ being the most popular among healthcare professionals. In addition to the evidence-based recommendations, it is important to ascertain the situation on the ground. We conducted a multicentric survey among physicians from a wide range of specialities to ascertain the usage on HCQ and its effects of COVID-19 prevention. We did not find any significant impact of HCQ on the prevention of COVID-19 (p=0.54) independent of the duration of its usage. This pilot project has the potential to act as a backbone for a larger study exploring the impact of pharmacological intervention on COVID-19 prevention.
References
Alhazzani, Møller, Arabi, Loeb, Gong, Surviving Sepsis Campaign: guidelines on the management of critically ill adults with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Intensive Care Med
Boulware, Pullen, Bangdiwala, Pastick, Lofgren et al., A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19, N Engl J Med
Hernandez, Roman, Pasupuleti, Barboza, White, Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine for Treatment or Prophylaxis of COVID-19, Ann Intern Med
Infante, Ricordi, Caprio, Fabbri, Hydroxychloroquine in the COVID-19 pandemic era: In pursuit of a rational use for prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther
Rajasingham, Bangdiwala, Nicol, Skipper, Pastick et al., Hydroxychloroquine as pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 in healthcare workers: A randomized trial, Med Rxiv
Salunke, Thivari, Pandey, Nandy, Ratna et al., No benefit of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19: Results of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome, Clin Res & Reviews
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