Hydroxychloroquine in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients: What Still Needs to Be Known About the Kinetics

Abstract

Different dosage regimens of hydroxychloroquine are used to manage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, without information on the pharmacokinetics in this population. Blood samples (n = 101) were collected from 57 COVID-19 patients for 7 days, and concentrations were compared with simulated kinetic profiles. Hydroxychloroquine exposure is low and cannot be predicted by other populations.

Keywords: COVID-19; dosage regimens; drug monitoring; hydroxychloroquine; population pharmacokinetic modeling.