Chloroquine Phosphate is not
Proved to be an Effective Treatment for Coronavirus: A Meta-analysis of
Clinical Trials
Mohamed Farouk Allam
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University.
The Open Microbiology Journal 2020, 14: 310-311
DOI: 10.2174/1874434602014010310
Abstract:
The aim of this meta-analysis is to investigate the effectiveness of
chloroquine in treating coronavirus, in general not only novel coronavirus
(COVID-19), by pooling the results of randomized controlled clinical trials
(RCTs). Only 28 publications were identified; none of which was a RCT.
Identified studies were published between 1987 and March 15, 2020. Of these 28
publications, 7 were published in 2020 and discussed the effectiveness of
chloroquine against COVID-19. Till March 15, 2020, the final results of the clinical
trials currently conducted in China were not available; only the preliminary
results reported promising effectiveness of chloroquine against COVID-19. The
other 21 publications not related to COVID-19 were distributed as follow; in
vitro experiments (11 publications), in vivo experiments (5 publications), both
in vitro and in vitro experiments (1 publication), and reviews (4
publications). Only 2 in vitro experiments were about Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and 5 publications (2 in vitro experiments, 2
reviews, and 1 in vivo experiment) were about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In conclusion, this meta-analysis could not prove that
chloroquine is an effective treatment against coronavirus in general or
COVID-19 in particular. Expanded access trials should be encouraged especially
that chloroquine is available, cheap and relatively safe drug.
Keywords: Chloroquine, coronavirus, COVID-19, Meta-analysis, Systematic
Review.
The Open Microbiology Journal 2020, 14: 310-311
https://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TOMICROJ/TOMICROJ-14-310.pdf
