Incident Use of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus During the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors' conclusion
Use of HCQ increased dramatically in the general population in both Spain and the United States during March and April 2020. Whereas Spain returned to prepandemic rates after the first wave, use of HCQ remained high and followed waves of COVID-19 in the United States. However, we found no evidence of general shortages in the use of HCQ for both RA and SLE in the United States.
Study context
- Population
- General population and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), US claims data and Spanish hospital records, January 2019 to March 2022more than 13.5 million in general population cohort
- Participants
- 13,311,811 / 207,646 / 135,259 / 39,295
- Exposure
- PHARMETRICS vs IMASIS vs RA vs SLE
- PHARMETRICSn = 13,311,811
- IMASISn = 207,646
- RAn = 135,259
- SLEn = 39,295
- Outcome
- Monthly rates of HCQ use (supply shortages for patients with RA and SLE)
Methodological detailsdrug utilisation study, US claims data and Spanish hospital electronic records, methotrexate (MTX) use as control
- Drug utilisation study
- US claims data and Spanish hospital electronic records
- MTX use as control
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incidence of HCQ use, general population · March 2020
Increase in incidence of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), PHARMETRICS
9-fold
Increase in incidence of HCQ, IMASIS
67-fold
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
MTX use (control)
- Incidence of MTX and HCQ stable before March 2020
- MTX use rates decreased during HCQ approval period for COVID-19 treatment
Original publication
Incident Use of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus During the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 9 May 2024. doi:10.
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