Revisiting a Meta-analysis Shows that Hydroxychloroquine with Azithromycin may be Efficient in Covid-19 patients

Author(s): Valère Lounnas, Alexis Lacout, Xavier Azalbert, Christian Perronne

Objective: To analyze the impact of study selection on the results of a recently published meta-analysis of the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin (AZI) in Covid-19 patients.

Methods: 31 studies were reviewed looking for critical bias. Combined hazard ratios and confidence intervals were calculated for both treatments using a fixed effects size model and a random effects model. Quantitative analysis regarding the toxicity of the association HCQ plus AZI is made.

Results: Meta-analyses performed on the 11 studies we deem critically unbiased show a mortality reduction of 55% for HCQ and 66% for HCQ plus AZI. For both treatments, our meta-analysis indicates a significant efficacy in reducing mortality in hospitalized Covid-19 patients.