Hydroxychloroquine as a Prophylaxis for COVID-19: An Observational Study About Awareness Among the Healthcare Workers

Background: Various modalities are understudy for the prevention and treatment of novel coronavirus One such modality is the use of Hydroxychloroquine/Chloroquine The objective of the survey was to understand the awareness and impact of HCQ/CQ prophylaxis among the health care workers (HCWs) especially anaesthetists as they are fighting it on the frontline Methods: A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted for HCWs globally Participation was voluntary and confidential-ity was maintained by making participants’ information anonymous The questionnaire consisted of 28 items Data were tabu-lated in excel, and descriptive statistics were performed Results: The survey was taken by 344 HCWs from all over the world 98% of participants heard about the use of HCQ/CQ prophylaxis against COVID 19 infection 301 HCWs knew about the side effects of HCQ/CQ 54 1% of participants agree there is not adequate research done 122 participants took HCQ/CQ prophylaxis Out of 29 5% participants who received the medicine from the hospital under hospital protocol, 66 7% were given medication without baseline investigations and 30 5% HCWs were not even briefed about the drug and its side effects by the hospitals 36 2% of participants developed side effects 8 7% of HCWs were tested for COVID19 out of 344 participants Conclusion: The drug taken by HCWs was without adequate evidence, prior investigations, supervision and follow-up Most of the participants self-prescribed the drug No separate guidelines were stated for people who had co-morbid conditions Hospitals neither conducted baseline investigations and nor briefed HCWs about HCQ/CQ These are some serious concerns we are look-ing into as who will be answerable in case of adverse events © IJCRR