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| CORRESPONDENCE |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 152
| Issue : 1 | Page : 132-133 |
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Authors' response
Pranab Chatterjee1, Tanu Anand2, Kh Jitenkumar Singh3, Reeta Rasaily4, Ravinder Singh5, Santasabuj Das6, Harpreet Singh7, Ira Praharaj8, Raman R Gangakhedkar8, Balram Bhargava9, Samiran Panda10
1 Translational Global Health Policy Research Cell, New Delhi, India
2 Multidisciplinary Research Unit/Model Rural Health Research Unit, New Delhi, India
3 ICMR-National Institute of Medical Statistics, New Delhi, India
4 Division of Reproductive Biology, Maternal Health & Child Health, New Delhi, India
5 Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India
6 Division of Clinical Medicine, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
7 Informatics, Systems & Research Management Cell, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India
8 Division of Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India
9 Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India
10 ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Web Publication | 17-Aug-2020 |
Correspondence Address:
Samiran Panda
ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
Read associated with this article DOI: 10.4103/0971-5916.292371
How to cite this article:
Chatterjee P, Anand T, Singh KJ, Rasaily R, Singh R, Das S, Singh H, Praharaj I, Gangakhedkar RR, Bhargava B, Panda S. Authors' response. Indian J Med Res 2020;152:132-3 |
How to cite this URL:
Chatterjee P, Anand T, Singh KJ, Rasaily R, Singh R, Das S, Singh H, Praharaj I, Gangakhedkar RR, Bhargava B, Panda S. Authors' response. Indian J Med Res [serial online] 2020 [cited 2021 Apr 18];152:132-3. Available from: https://www.ijmr.org.in/text.asp?2020/152/1/132/292371 |
While appreciating the study we conducted[1], Pareek et al[2] reiterated the potential role of HCQ as a chemoprophylactic agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the process, they highlighted the importance of protecting frontline HCWs. Data from UK and USA now reveal that compared to the general community, HCWs are at considerably increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection[3]. Since early days of the pandemic, many of the HCWs have even lost their lives to SARS-CoV-2[4].
In the latter part of the letter, the authors presented the case of Russia adopting recently the policy of HCQ chemoprophylaxis[2]. They also offered supportive evidence generated from various cities of India, where HCWs presumably were able to keep SARS-CoV-2 at bay with the help of HCQ. However, it was not clear from the evidence showcased in the letter, if any comparison group was examined (non-receivers of HCQ among HCWs) to reach such conclusions. What really would help putting the debate around efficacy of HCQ - chemoprophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 to rest, are the results of the ongoing randomized placebo controlled trials.
The suggestion to rapidly achieve an adequate state of maintenance with sufficient concentration of HCQ in the target tissues through more frequent dosing compared to the one currently advised in India would also benefit from an appropriately designed study. Concealment of allocation[5] of the study participants to various regimens and keeping the investigators, participants as well as outcome assessors unaware of the assigned regimens would be the two crucial and challenging components while conducting such an investigation.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Chatterjee P, Anand T, Singh KJ, Rasaily R, Singh R, Das S, et al. Healthcare workers & SARS-CoV-2 infection in India: A case-control investigation in the time of COVID-19. Indian J Med Res 2020; 151 : 459-67.  |
| 2. | Pareek A, Bhandari S, Mehta RT. Hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis in COVID-19: Need to revisit dosing regimen. Indian J Med Res 2020; 152 : 131-2. |
| 3. | Nguyen LH, Drew DA, Graham MS, Joshi AD, Guo CG, Mehta WM, et al. On behalf of the Coronavirus Pandemic Epidemiology Consortium. Risk of COVID-19 among front-line health-care workers and the general community: A prospective cohort study. Lancet Pub Health 2020. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30164-X. |
| 4. | The Lancet. COVID-19: Protecting health-care workers. Lancet 2020; 395 : 922. |
| 5. | Schulz KF, Chalmers I, Altman DG. The landscape and lexicon of blinding in randomized trials. Ann Intern Med 2002; 136 : 254-9. |
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