Abstract: J AM ACAD DERMATOL
VOLUME 84, NUMBER 6
Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine,
Massachusetts.e
Drs Hartman and La are cofirst authors.
Funding sources: Supported by an American Skin
Association research grant (120795 to Dr
Hartman).
IRB approval status: Not applicable.
Reprints not available from the authors.
Correspondence to: Rebecca I. Hartman, MD, MPH,
Harvard Medical School, BWH Department of
Dermatology, 221 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA
02215
E-mail: rhartman@bwh.harvard.edu
Conflicts of interest
None disclosed.
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2020.12.069
Chronic hydroxychloroquine
therapy and COVID-19 outcomes: A
retrospective case-control analysis
To the Editor: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has failed
to show significant therapeutic benefit for patients
with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in recent
studies, although interest in this medication’s
potential pre- and postprophylactic efficacy remains,
with 1 retrospective study showing reduced
COVID-19 infection among patients taking chronic
HCQ.1,2 In this study, we sought to evaluate
COVID-19 clinical outcomes in patients taking
chronic HCQ for an underlying condition as well as
in a matched cohort not taking HCQ at time of
COVID-19 diagnosis.
Research Letters 1769
Table I. Hydroxychloroquine indication, dosage,
and duration at time of COVID-19 diagnosis
HCQ indication, dosage, and duration (N = 50)
HCQ indication
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Rheumatoid arthritis
Connective tissue disease
overlap syndromes
€gren syndrome
Sjo
Mixed connective tissue disease
Undifferentiated connective
tissue disease
Erythema nodosum during
pregnancy
Carcinoid
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/
chronic fatigue syndrome
Acquired hypogammaglobulinemia
HCQ dosage
200 mg HCQ daily
200 mg HCQ 2 times daily
(400 mg total)
200 mg HCQ 3 times daily
(600 mg total)
Mean duration of HCQ therapy
before COVID-19 diagnosis (IQR)
n (%)
17 (34.0)
11 (22.0)
9 (18.0)
6 (12.0)
2 (4.0)
1 (2.0)
1 (2.0)
1 (2.0)
1 (2.0)
1 (2.0)
13 (36.0)
36 (72.0)
1 (2.0)
28 (14.25-44.25)
months
COVID-19, Coronavirus disease-2019; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine;
IQR, interquartile range.
We identified all patients with severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seen at New
York University from March to April 2020 using
International Classification of Diseases, 10th
revision codes and included patients taking HCQ
for $6 weeks before their COVID-19 diagnosis.
Control subjects were randomly selected from the
remaining severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2epositive patients with automated
matching for age, gender, and immunosuppressive
medication using..
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