Correction: Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19?
Authors: Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA, Jennifer Yost, RN, PhD, Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, PharmD, PhD, Matthew C. Miller, MD, George M. Abraham, MD, MPH
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)

Corrections26 May 2020Correction: Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19?FREEThis correction concerns the following article:Special ArticlesJul 2020Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19? Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 1)FREEAmir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA, Jennifer Yost, RN, PhD, Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, PharmD, PhD, Matthew C. Miller, MD, George M. Abraham, MD, MPHAmir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHAAmerican College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (A.Q., I.E.), Jennifer Yost, RN, PhDAmerican College of Physicians, Philadelphia, and Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania (J.Y.), Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, PharmD, PhDAmerican College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (A.Q., I.E.), Matthew C. Miller, MDPenn Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (M.C.M.), George M. Abraham, MD, MPHUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School/Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts (G.M.A.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L20-0684 SectionsAboutVisual AbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The authors of the recent ACP Practice Points article, “Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19?” (1), have identified a few discrepancies due to different versions of the article and evidence reviews. They have submitted the following corrections.Three case series studies listed under the harms section (references 13, 14, 15) comparing hydroxychloroquine alone vs. standard treatment should be moved to hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin vs. standard treatment. The information should read as follows:Outcome: Any adverse eventStudy Design: 1 OBSEvidence: The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin in 1 case series study; 8.7% of patients experienced adverse effects (14)Certainty of Evidence: InsufficientNote: The reference has been corrected.Outcome: DiarrheaStudy Design: 1 OBSEvidence: The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin in 1 case series study (14); 5.0% patients experienced diarrheaCertainty of Evidence: InsufficientNote: The reference and estimate have been corrected.Outcome: Prolonged QTc intervalStudy Design: 3 OBSEvidence: The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin. In 2 case series studies, 9% (15) and 11% (13) of patients showed a prolonged QTc (13); however, a prolonged QTc interval was not reported for any patients in another case series study (16).Certainty of Evidence: InsufficientA few estimates were omitted from the Evidence Summary table during formatting:• Pulmonary radiological assessment: 6.5% vs. 29%• Progression to severe disease: 0% vs. 12.9%• All-cause mortality: 2.8% vs. 4.6%• Severe adverse events: 2.9% vs. 0%• Any adverse event: 6.5% vs. 0% and 30% vs. 8.8%The versioning issue resulted in making a few other small edits that include: reference for resolution of fever, the number of studies for resolution of cough in the Evidence Table and for hydroxychloroquine in the Figure, and the table heading under practice points for “Should chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin be used for treatment of patients with COVID-19?”The authors note that these corrections have no impact on their conclusions.These corrections have been made online.Reference1. Qaseem A, Yost J, Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta I, et al. Scientific Medical Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Should clinicians use chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin for the prophylaxis or treatment of COVID-19? Living practice points from the American College of Physicians (version 1). Ann Intern Med. 13 May 2020. [Epub ahead of print]. [PMID: 32422063]. doi:10.7326/M20-1998 LinkGoogle Scholar Comments 0 Comments Sign In to Submit A Comment Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationThis article was published at Annals.org on 26 May 2020. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoShould Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19? Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 1) Amir Qaseem , Jennifer Yost , Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta , Matthew C. Miller , George M. Abraham , Adam Jacob Obley , Mary Ann Forciea , Janet A. Jokela , and Linda L. Humphrey , for the Scientific Medical Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians* Metrics 21 July 2020Volume 173, Issue 2 Page: 166 Keywords Adverse events Case series Chloroquine COVID-19 Diarrhea Fevers Hydroxychloroquine Mortality Patients Prophylaxis ePublished: 26 May 2020 Issue Published: 21 July 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2020 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...