Negative Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR Conversion in Response to Different Therapeutic Interventions

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Virology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Current COVID-19 management focuses on infection prevention and supportive care.
• Investigating therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes is crucial.
• The association between specific treatments and viral clearance requires further study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the association between negative nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clearance and different therapeutic interventions.
• To compare viral clearance rates in COVID-19 patients receiving antimalarials with or without other drugs versus supportive care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 93 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia.
• Intervention groups received chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) alone, with azithromycin, or with antivirals +/- azithromycin.
• Primary endpoint: negative PCR within 5 days; Secondary endpoint: negative PCR within 12 days.

Main Results:

• Median time to first negative PCR was 3 days across all groups.
• No statistically significant difference in achieving negative PCR endpoints between intervention and supportive care groups.
• No significant difference in the median time to achieve the first negative PCR sample.

Conclusions:

• Prescribing antimalarial medications (chloroquine/HCQ) did not shorten the disease course for COVID-19 patients.
• Antimalarial use did not accelerate the rate of negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR conversion.
• Current evidence does not support the use of these antimalarials for faster viral clearance in COVID-19.