No benefit of hydroxychloroquine on SARS-CoV-2 viral load reduction in non-critical hospitalized patients with COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Some studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an effective drug in reducing the in vitro replication of SARS-CoV-2. However, the in vivo effect of HCQ still unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate viral load clearance in patients with COVID-19 who underwent HCQ treatment in comparison with a control group that did not receive the drug. STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study comprised consecutive viral load measurements in patients with COVID-19 hospitalized with a moderate illness. Patients received 400 mg of HCQ every 12 h for 10 days according to the medical decision. Nasal swab samples were collected from patients during early, intermediary, and final clinical stage of COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 155 samples were collected from 66 patients with COVID-19 (60% female), with a median age of 58 years. The viral load between studied groups, assumed as a semiquantitative measure of cycle threshold (Ct) values, presented no significant difference within the three consecutive measures (ΔCt) (p > 0.05). We also analyzed the ΔCt viral load at different intervals of sample collection (Δt < 7; 7–12; and > 12 days) without significant differences at any ΔCt (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, we did not observe any change in viral load reduction in vivo with the use of HCQ.