COVID-19 Pneumonia during Hydroxychloroquine Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Gürsoy, Canan; Tapan, Özge Oral; Dogan, Emrah; Togan, Turhan; Demirbilek, Semra Gumus

The recently emerged and novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that caused the current global pandemic was detected for the first time in Turkey in March 2020. While it continues to spread rapidly worldwide, there are still many uncertainties in the prevention and treatment of new coronavirus disease. We report a case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in a patient under hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. A 38-year female patient developed severe respiratory distress with SARS-CoV-2 infection and was treated in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). With this report, we aim to discuss the place of HCQ in prophylaxis in the light of the literature with a case presentation of COVID-19 pneumonia under HCQ treatment. Key Words: Coronavirus, Hydroxychloroquine, Prophylaxis, Rheumatoid arthritis, COVI-19.