Risk versus Benefit of Using Hydroxychloroquine to Treat Patients with COVID-19

Table 1

Frequency of adverse drug events associated with hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.

Adverse event type	Described events	Frequency in COVID-19 patients^a,b	Frequency in non-COVID-19 patients^a	References
Cardiac	QTc prolongation^c	Common	Well documented	[8–15, 40]
	Severe QTc prolongation^d	Common	Well documented
	Arrhythmias (TdP)	Rare	Case reports
	Ventricular tachycardia	Rare	Case reports
	Cardiomyopathy	—	Case reports
	Cardiac death	Case report	Case report
	Sinus arrest	Rare	Case report
Neuropsychiatric	Headache	—	Common	[8, 9, 17–27]
	Mood changes	—	Common
	Psychosis	Case reports	Case reports
	Depression	—	Case reports
	Bipolar disorder	—	Case reports
	Amnesia	—	Case reports
	Delirium	—	Case reports
	Hallucinations	Case reports	Case reports
	Depression	—	Case reports
	Loss of consciousness	—	Case reports
	Seizures	Case reports	Case reports
Hematologic	Hemolytic anemia in G6PD	Case reports	Drug warning	[8, 9, 28]
	Agranulocytosis	Case reports	Case reports
	Thrombocytopenia	Case reports	Case reports
	Leukopenia	Case reports	Case reports
Hepatobiliary	Hepatitis/↑LEs^e/↑bilirubin	Case reports	Drug warning	[8, 9, 29]
	Hepatic failure	Case reports	—
Ocular	Retinopathy	—	Common	[8, 9, 30]
Dermatological	Exacerbation of psoriasis	Case report	Case reports	[8, 9, 31]
	Drug eruption/rash	—	Common
	Pruritus	—	Common
	Hyperpigmentation	—	Case reports
	AGEP^f	—	Case reports
	TEN^g	—	Case reports
	SJS^h	—	Case reports
	Hair loss	—	Case reports
	Stomatitis	—	Case reports

^aFrequency of adverse drug reactions reported using the Council of International Organization Medical Sciences (CIOMS) scale: very common, ≥1/10; common, ≥1/100 and <1/10; uncommon, ≥1/1,000 and <1/100; rare, ≥1/10,000 and <1/1,000; and very rare, <1/10,000. ^bBased on available literature that may be inconclusive/incomplete. ^cQTc prolongation defined as significant increase from baseline QTc interval. ^dSevere QTc prolongation defined as QTc interval >500 ms or QTc prolongation requiring discontinuation of treatment. ^eLE, liver enzymes. ^fAGEP, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis. ^gTEN, toxic epidermal necrolysis. ^hSJS, Stevens–Johnson syndrome.