• Chris A Gentry, Sharanjeet K Thind, Riley J Williams, Sage C Hendrickson, George Kurdgelashvili, and Mary Beth Humphrey.
• Pharmacy Service, Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Oklahoma City, OK, United States. Electronic address: chris.gentry@va.gov.
• Am. J. Med. Sci. 2023 Jan 1; 365 (1): 192519-25.

BackgroundThe primary purpose of the current study was to examine whether patients with rheumatologic conditions receiving only chronic hydroxychloroquine therapy for their disease are at less risk of developing SARS-CoV-2 infection than a comparative group of patients without rheumatologic conditions.MethodsA retrospective, observational, nationwide stratified propensity analysis was conducted comparing patients only on chronic treatment with hydroxychloroquine for their rheumatologic condition to a random sample of patients without rheumatologic conditions and not receiving hydroxychloroquine, utilizing a Veterans Health Administration nationwide clinical administrative database.ResultsThe 1-to-1 stratified propensity analysis was undertaken using a random sample of patients without rheumatoid conditions and not receiving hydroxychloroquine (n  33,081) and patients with rheumatoid conditions receiving hydroxychloroquine as the lone medication for their condition (n  6047). A total of 5,474 patients in each group were successfully matched. The incidence of documented SARS-CoV-2 infections during the study period did not differ between patients receiving hydroxychloroquine and patients not receiving hydroxychloroquine (41/5,474 [0.749%] vs. 36/5,474 [0.658%], respectively, p = 0.57; Odds ratio [OR] 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-1.79). There were no statistically-significant differences in secondary outcomes between the two groups in patients who developed active SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multivariate logistic regression to determine independent variables associated with the development of active SARS-CoV-2 infection failed to include receipt of hydroxychloroquine (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.62-1.56).ConclusionsHydroxychloroquine failed to demonstrate a preventative effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large group of patients with rheumatologic conditions compared to patients without rheumatologic conditions.Published by Elsevier Inc.

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