Hydroxychloroquine with or without macrolide and standard of care versus standard of care alone for COVID-19 cases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been a global health threat. The specific treatment of this disease has not yet been approved. In this review, we aimed at assessing the role of hydroxychloroquine with/without macrolide in terms of efficacy and adverse effects against the standard of care. Methods: Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched for the quantitative and qualitative synthesis of 13 studies using PRISMA guidelines for a proper review. Assessment of heterogeneity was done using the I-squared (I2) test and fixed/random effect analysis was done to determine the odds/risk ratio among the selected studies.Results: Meta-analysis of our study demonstrated no significant differences in improvement for the virological cure (RR 0.95, 0.67-1.34), whereas a significant relationship was there in radiological progression (pneumonia resolution) (RR 1.40, 1.03-1.91) between the two arms. There are 1.52 times the odds of intubation during treatment (CI 0.61-3.77), 1.08 times the risk of mortality (CI 0.65-1.79), and about 2.21 times increased risk of development of adverse effect (OR 2.21, 0.95-5.17). Though overall it is of no statistical significance, clinical relevance to thinking while using the treatment for COVID-19 is advised. Among randomized controlled trials, the treatment group has 3.5 times (OR 3.48, 1.64-7.42) higher risk of developing adverse effects. There is 2.5 times the likelihood of severe arrhythmias and QT prolongation (OR 2.49, 1.67-3.70) on the treatment arm compared to control.Conclusion: Hydroxychloroquine with/without macrolide has shown no beneficial effect in viral clearance, survival rates while shows significant relation with the radiological improvement compared to standard of care but may increase the risk of intubation, overall side effects, and cardiac complications like arrhythmias and QT prolongation. Thus utilizing this treatment needs to be judged in clinical relevance and proper monitoring.