Generating conclusive evidence on the use of hydroxychloroquine in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in pregnant women. This is the main objective of COVID-Preg, a new multicentre clinical trial coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Hospital Clínic.
Hydroxychloroquine, one of the drugs that has raised the greatest expectations as a possible treatment for COVID-19, is currently used to prevent and treat malaria and in the treatment of other diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.
The clinical trial will enrol more than 700 pregnant women. Half will receive hydroxychloroquine for 14 days and the other half will receive a placebo. On completion of the treatment, the women will be retested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Routine follow-up will continue until delivery, when the newborns will be tested to rule out maternal transmission of the infection.
So far, two recent studies suggest that hydroxychloroquine may be effective in reducing the viral load of SARS-CoV-2, although the results are inconclusive and further research is needed.
