Successful recovery of COVID-19 pneumonia in a patient from Colombia after receiving chloroquine and clarithromycin

Millán-Oñate, José; Millan, William; Mendoza, Luis Alfonso; Sánchez, Carlos Guillermo; Fernandez-Suarez, Hugo; Bonilla-Aldana, D. Katterine; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemics is a challenge for public health and infectious diseases clinicians, especially for the therapeutical approach that is not yet adequately defined. Amid this situation, investigational agents are being used, including chloroquine. We report here the clinical features and therapeutic course of the first reported patient with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia that recovered in Colombia, after the use of chloroquine and clarithromycin. CASE PRESENTATION: A 34-year-old male, returning from Spain, presented with complaints of fever, and cough, and class-II obesity, being hospitalized. The respiratory viruses and bacteria tested by FilmArray(®) PCR were negative. Two days later, clarithromycin was started because the patient was suspected as community-acquired pneumonia. At the third day, the rRT-PCR confirmed the SARS-CoV-2 infection. A day later, chloroquine was started because of that. His chest computed tomography was performed and showed bilateral multifocal ground-glass opacities with consolidation, which suggested viral pneumonia as a differential diagnosis. Progressively his clinical condition improved and at day 9, patient rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 became negative. The patient was discharged and isolated at home per 14 days. CONCLUSIONS: Our patient improved significantly. This and other COVID-19 cases are urgently demanding results from clinical trials that support evidence-based therapeutical approaches to this pandemic and the clinical management of patients, especially those at critical care.