Treating COVID-19 With Hydroxychloroquine (TEACH)

Treatments for COVID-19 are urgently needed. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an antimalarial and immunomodulatory agent being repurposed for COVID-19 therapy based off in vitro data suggesting a possible antiviral effect. However, HCQ's effect on COVID-19 in human infection remains unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we will enroll 626 adult patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and randomize them 1:1 to a five-day course of HCQ or placebo. Notable exclusion criteria include ICU admission or ventilation on enrollment, prior therapy with HCQ, and baseline prolonged qTC. Our primary endpoint is a severe disease progression composite outcome (death, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, ECMO, , and/or vasopressor requirement) at the 14-day post-treatment evaluation. Notable secondary clinical outcomes include 30-day mortality, hospital length of stay, noninvasive ventilator support, and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) grading scale. Secondary exploratory objectives will examine SARS-CoV-2 viral eradication at the EOT, changes in COVID-19 putative prognostic markers and cytokine levels, and titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This randomized trial will determine if HCQ is effective as treatment in hospitalized non-ICU patients with COVID-19.