Hydroxychloroquine and the treatment of Sjogren's Syndrome, Chronic Ulcerative Stomatitis, and Oral Lichen Planus in the age of COVID-19

Abstract The Federal Drug Administration has recently approved the off-label use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for the treatment of COVID-19 infections. However, a recent study has not only failed to demonstrate HCQ efficacy but has documented an HCQ COVID-19 therapy serious side-effect of QT prolongation and secondary arrhythmia. HCQ has been utilized as an off-label drug and deemed safe and effective for such oral lesions as Sjogren's syndrome (SS), Chronic Ulcerative Stomatitis (CUS), and Oral Lichen Planus (OLP). As HCQ may be appropriately utilized for the off-label treatment of SS, CUS, and OLP, the relevant HCQ safety concerns such as dosage, drug-drug interactions, and QT prolongation and secondary arrhythmia are discussed. Due to the possibility of decreased pharmacy HCQ supplies, replacement drugs with respect to SS, CUS, and OLP patients being successfully treated with HCQ are also discussed.