Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Nimra Institute of Medical Sciences, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Ann Afr Med. 2022 Apr-Jun;21(2):113-117. doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_82_20.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has engulfed the whole world with millions getting infected and losing their lives. Health care professionals (HCPs) who are in the front line of fighting with COVID-19 are particularly vulnerable and it is crucial to protect them from COVID-19. In this regard, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended hydroxychloroquine (HCQS) chemoprophylaxis in HCPs. However, considering the lack of sufficient evidence the HCP are in a dilemma about this aspect. Moreover, there is a paucity of data on use of HCQS as a chemoprophylaxis among Indian HCP. Hence, this study was carried out to study the extent of use and also the perception of Indian HCP toward use of HCQS as a chemoprophylaxis for COVID-19.
This was a cross-sectional study done on 205 HCPs working across India. The responses were collected electronically using a prevalidated semi-structured questionnaire.
62.9% (129/205) respondents reported having taken HCQS chemo-prophylaxis for COVID-19 while 34.7% (76/205) did not take it. Among HCP, who did not take the prophylaxis, the main reasons cited were concern about adverse effects (61.5%) and lack of robust evidence (24%). Only 14% of respondents felt that there was sufficient evidence to justify use of HCQS for prophylaxis while an overwhelming majority (86%) felt otherwise or were uncertain.
The majority of participants felt that despite a lack of proven efficacy, ICMR guidelines on HCQS prophylaxis in COVID-19 are justified considering the pandemic situation. Our study also found that HCQS is well tolerated by participants and there was no reported serious adverse effect and cardiac-related side effects among them.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行席卷全球，数百万人感染并失去生命。奋战在 COVID-19 一线的医护人员（HCPs）特别容易受到感染，因此保护他们免受 COVID-19 感染至关重要。在这方面，印度医学研究理事会（ICMR）建议医护人员使用羟氯喹（HCQS）进行化学预防。然而，由于缺乏足够的证据，医护人员在这方面陷入了困境。此外，印度医护人员使用 HCQS 进行化学预防的数据也很少。因此，进行了这项研究，以了解印度医护人员使用 HCQS 进行 COVID-19 化学预防的程度和他们对此的看法。
这是一项在印度各地工作的 205 名医护人员进行的横断面研究。使用预先验证的半结构式问卷通过电子方式收集答复。
62.9%（129/205）的受访者报告已服用 HCQS 进行 COVID-19 化学预防，而 34.7%（76/205）未服用。在未服用预防药物的医护人员中，主要原因是担心不良反应（61.5%）和缺乏确凿证据（24%）。只有 14%的受访者认为有足够的证据证明 HCQS 用于预防是合理的，而绝大多数（86%）人则持相反或不确定的态度。
大多数参与者认为，尽管缺乏已证明的疗效，但考虑到大流行情况，ICMR 关于 COVID-19 中 HCQS 预防的指南是合理的。我们的研究还发现，HCQS 被参与者很好地耐受，并且他们中没有报告严重不良事件和与心脏相关的副作用。
