Gupta L, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2020 May;35(27):e256. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e256

Objective The pandemic Coronavirus Disease‐19 (COVID‐19) has pushed the global healthcare system to a crisis and amounted to a huge economic burden. Different drugs for prophylaxis against COVID‐19 including chloroquine (CQ) or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have been tried. This study was performed to systematically review the role of CQ and HCQ in preventing the spread of COVID‐19. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, ICTRP, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies that evaluated the prophylactic role of CQ or HCQ on SARS‐CoV‐2 (pre‐clinical studies) or COVID‐19 (clinical studies) until 30 March 2020. The available literature was critically appraised. Results A total of 45 articles were screened and five (three in vitro pre‐clinical studies and two clinical opinions) were included. The pre‐clinical studies showed the prophylactic effects of CQ and HCQ against SARS‐CoV‐2. On the other hand, the clinical opinions advocated the prophylactic use of CQ and HCQ against COVID‐19. However, no original clinical studies on the prophylactic role of CQ or HCQ on COVID‐19 were available. Conclusion Although pre‐clinical results are promising, till date, there is dearth of evidence to support the efficacy of CQ or HCQ in preventing COVID‐19. Considering potential safety issues and the likelihood of imparting a false sense of security, prophylaxis with CQ or HCQ against COVID‐19 needs to be thoroughly evaluated in observational studies or high quality randomized controlled studies.

Misra DP, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2018 Oct;33(46):e287. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e287