Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40729153›Full record

ArticleReports (MDPI)2024

Drug-Drug Interactions of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine in Older Patients with COVID-19 during the First Pandemic Waves: The GeroCovid Observational Study.

Caterina Trevisan, Andrea Cignarella, Andrea Grandieri, Giuseppe Sergi, Stefano Fumagalli, Fabio Monzani, Chukwuma Okoye, Giuseppe Bellelli, Alba Malara, Pietro Gareri and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Reports (MDPI), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. A NewPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Caterina TrevisanGeriatric and Orthogeriatric Unit, Department of Medical Science, University of Ferrara, 44124 Ferrara, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9221-6997
Andrea CignarellaDepartment of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4820-4876
Andrea GrandieriGeriatric and Orthogeriatric Unit, Department of Medical Science, University of Ferrara, 44124 Ferrara, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0553-5971
Giuseppe SergiDepartment of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy.
Stefano FumagalliDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence and Division of Geriatric and Intensive Care Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy.
Fabio MonzaniGeriatrics Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1676-098X
Chukwuma OkoyeGeriatrics Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Giuseppe BellelliSchool of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca and Acute Geriatric Unit, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, 20900 Monza, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5430-0947
Alba MalaraANASTE-Humanitas Foundation, 00192 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0073-3792
Pietro GareriCenter for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia (CDCD) Catanzaro Lido, ASP Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-4277-3426
Stefano VolpatoGeriatric and Orthogeriatric Unit, Department of Medical Science, University of Ferrara, 44124 Ferrara, Italy.
Raffaele Antonelli IncalziUnit of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, 00128 Rome, Italy.
The GeroCovid Acute Ward Working Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveChloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were used as off-label treatments for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first pandemic waves. The urgency of combatting COVID-19 led to the dissemination of medical recommendations with a scarce awareness of possible drug-drug interactions. This issue primarily concerned people already taking multiple medications, such as older individuals. We estimated the prevalence of drug interactions with CQ or HCQ in COVID-19 inpatients during the first pandemic waves and their possible association with hospitalization-related outcomes.

methodsThis study considers 487 patients aged ≥60, hospitalized for COVID-19 from March to December 2020, and treated with CQ or HCQ. Data on acute and chronic therapies and hospitalization length and outcomes were derived from medical records. The presence of drugs potentially interacting with CQ and HCQ was identified based on published literature and drug databases.

resultsIn our sample (mean age 77.1 years, 47.8% females), 255 (52.4%) patients presented with one drug interaction with CQ or HCQ, and 114 (23.4%) had more than two interactions. The most frequent drugs potentially interacting with CQ or HCQ were lopinavir/ritonavir (50.4%), azithromycin (47.2%), tocilizumab (15.4%), levofloxacin (8.7%), clarithromycin (6.0%), amlodipine (3.3%), and trazodone (2.4%). No substantial differences in the duration and outcomes of the hospitalization emerged as a function of the presence of drug-drug interactions.

conclusionsMany older patients prescribed with CQ or HCQ, which have lately proved ineffective against COVID-19, were exposed to the risk of drug-drug interaction. This underlines that medical recommendations should undergo careful peer review before being widely disseminated, even in emergencies like a pandemic.

Indexed as

chloroquineCOVID-19drug interactionshydroxychloroquine

Identifiers

PMID40729153
PMCPMC12225520

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.