Incidence of COVID-19 in patients under chronic treatment with hydroxychloroquine

Tejada Cifuentes, Francisco; Lloret Callejo, Ángeles; Tirado Peláez, María José; Rubio Pulido, Olga; Ruiz-Morote Aragón, Marta; Fernández Urrusuno, Rocío; Muñoz Carreras, María Isabel; Méndez Esteban, María Isabel; Maestre Sánchez, Victoria; García Bonilla, Antonio; Paredero Dominguez, José Manuel; Arroyo Pineda, Virginia; Marco Tejón, Esther; Romero Candel, Gregorio; Fernández Marchante, Ana Isabel; Marco del Rio, José; Ortiz Martín, Teresa; López Sánchez, Piedad

Objective To analyze the incidence of Covid-19 in patients who are chronic users of hydroxychloroquine. Patients and methods Cross-sectional retrospective observational multicenter study in health areas and districts from Castilla La-Mancha and Andalucia. Of the 4451 participants included in the first recruitment, 3817 with valid data were selected. The main variable of the study is the presence or absence of Covid-19 infection by clinical, serological or polymerase chain reaction diagnosis. Sociodemographic and clinical variables and treatment and concomitant comorbidities were recorded. Results 169 (4,45%) patients had Covid-19 infection, of which 12 (7.1%) died and 32 (18.9%) required hospital admission. Previous respiratory pathology was related to Covid-19 infection (P < .05). Maculopathy appears in 5.3% of patients and is significantly related to the dose of hydroxychloroquine consumed (P < .05). Conclusion There is no relationship between chronic use of hydroxychloroquine and the incidence of Covid-19.