Hydroxychloroquine

Under normal circumstances, most New Yorkers thrive on being at the epicenter of civilization and culture. COVID-19 has raised the question of what happens when that civilization and culture is taken away. As residents hide out, many of them in cramped homes and studio apartments, health care workers from the biggest city in the world face challenges they have never had to face before.

The FDA has rescinded the emergency use authorization, or EUA, for hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, according to a letter from RADM Denise Hinton, the FDA’s Chief Scientist.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who received hydroxychloroquine were just as likely to develop severe COVID-19 as those who were not treated with antimalarials, according to data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance registry.

Thrombosis rates among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus decrease 13% for every increase of 200 ng/mL in mean hydroxychloroquine in the blood, according to data presented at the EULAR 2020 virtual congress.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus had a significantly increased risk for antimalarial-induced retinopathy, possibly due to prolonged exposure to those drugs, according to a data presented at the EULAR 2020 E-Congress.

WHO has confirmed another Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Following criticism from experts regarding validity, The Lancet retracted a study that raised questions about the usefulness and safety of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.

Hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness similar to, or confirmed to be, COVID-19 when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days of moderate- to high-risk exposure, according to findings in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Treatment with hydroxychloroquine was not associated with heart failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a recent study; however, more research is needed regarding higher doses, according to a presenter at the EULAR 2020 E-Congress.

Evidence suggests hydroxychloroquine may play a role in glucose homeostasis among select individuals with type 2 diabetes; however, data on long-term safety and efficacy are lacking, particularly in the setting of COVID-19.