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Review
. 2020 Sep;96(1139):550-555.
doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-137785. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19

Neeraj Sinha  1 , Galit Balayla  2
Affiliations
Review

Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19

Neeraj Sinha et al. Postgrad Med J. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are medications that have been used for a long time. Their most common use is for the treatment and prophylaxis of malaria. However, these antimalarial drugs are known to also have anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects and are used for several chronic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus with low adverse effects. The antiviral action of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine has been a point of interest to different researchers due to its mechanism of action. Several in vitro studies have proven their effectiveness on severe acute respiratory syndrome virus and currently both in vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted on 2019 novel coronavirus (covid-19). The purpose of this article is to review the history and mechanism of actions of these drugs and the potential use they can have on the current covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: thoracic medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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