Preliminary Study on Open Labelled Randomized Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine Phosphate for the Treatment of Persons Infected with 2019 Coronavirus Disease in Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a causative agent of COVID-19 is a leading cause of ill-health and deaths worldwide. Currently, COVID-19 has no known widely approved therapeutics. Thus, the need for effective treatment.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the safety and efficacy of two (2) therapeutic agents; chloroquine phosphate (CQ), 2- hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and a control (standard supportive therapy) among hospitalized adults with COVID-19.

METHODS

The clinical trial was done in accordance to the World Health Organization master protocol for investigational therapeutics for COVID-19. Atotal of 40 participants with laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 were enrolled. Blood samples and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs were obtained on days 1,3,15 and 29 for safety and efficacy assessments.

RESULTS

The baseline demographics showed that the median ages in years (range) were 45 (31-57) in CQ, 45 (36.5-60.5) in HCQ, 43 (39.5-67.0) and 44.5 (25.3-51.3) in the control (P<0.042).At randomization, seven (7) participants were asymptomatic, thirty-three (33) had mild symptoms, eight (8) had moderate symptoms while three (3) had severe symptoms. The average day of conversion to negative COVID-19 was 15.5 days for CQ, 16 days for HCQ and 18 days for the control(P=0.036).

CONCLUSION

The safety assessment revealed no adverse effect of the drugs in COVID-19 patients after treatment. These findings proved that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are effective for the treatment of COVID-19 among hospitalized adults. It also confirmed that they are safe.

Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Seen at a Testing Centre in Lagos Nigeria

BACKGROUND

The SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to ravage the global community since it was declared a pandemic. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics defining the disease are mainly from Europe and Asia. The disease symptomatology is similar to the prevalent diseases in our environment, this could result in the delay in prompt identification and appropriate management of suspected cases toward combating community transmission. This study evaluates the prevalence, socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of positive cases of COVID -19.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study. Data on the socio-demographic, clinical characteristics and the results of the SARS-CoV-2 test of participants at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research [NIMR] Modified Drive-through Centre for COVID-19 test sample collection over two months [24th February 2020- 27th April 2020] were retrieved from the electronic medical records (EMR). Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0.

RESULTS

A total number of 481 clients were evaluated in this review. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the population was 14.6%. The mean age of the positive cases was 42.2 [±15.9] years. The common symptoms reported by the positive cases were fever (40.0%), cough (32.9%), sore throat (17.1%) and running nose (15.7%). Fever depicted statistical significance with positive cases with the majority being of mild to moderate clinical severity.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among this cohort was 14.6% with a male preponderance. Fever and sore throat were the variables that predicted SARS CoV-2 infection among our cohort.