The COVID-19 emerging disease due to a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), started in Wuhan, China, last December, 2019. In the past three months, the virus has spread rapidly worldwide to reach the pandemic threshold.

Research has since been carried out and is intensifying in order to describe the clinical characteristics of infected patients, to identify the prognostic factors of acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS] and the death; and to assess the effectiveness of new antivirals and therapeutic strategies to treat COVID-19.

Treatments currently being investigated include:

• Potentially effective treatments: (hydroxy)chloroquine, Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Ritonavir +/- IFN-ß-1a (currently evaluated in the European discovery trial), methylprednisolone in patients with ARDS;
• Potentially harmful treatments: antihypertensives such as converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists.

We made the hypothesis that (1) patients receiving ARBs or ACEi's have a higher risk to present a serious COVID-19 infection disease and (2) patients receiving synthetic AMD (e.g. HCQ and CQ) have a lower risk to present a serious covid19 infection disease.

Using data from the French insurance health database (SNDS) and hospital discharge database (PMSI), our objectives are

• Main objective: To assess the risk of moderate to serious COVID-19 infections in patients using synthetic anti-malarial drugs (AMD) or anti-hypertensive drugs (Angiotensin receptor-blocking/Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors).
• Secondary objective : To examine the risk of moderate to serious COVID-19 infections according of age, sex, co-morbidities, level of exposure of AMD, geographical locations and underlying comorbidities.

This in order to:

• To prevent moderate to serious COVID-19 infections in at-risk population (diabetes, elderly, respiratory failure population) using synthetic AMD.
• To prevent moderate to serious COVID-19 infections in at-risk population stopping angiotensin receptor-blocking and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors.

Details for "Study design" section

Time perspective : Retrospective and prospective cohort study using French National Health Database Data source

Enrollment:

• 70,000 patients treated by synthetic AMD
• 13 million patients treated by ARBs or ACEi's from the French national health insurance database (SNDS) and the French national hospital discharge database (Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information, PMSI)

Inclusion Criteria:

All adults (18 years of age and older) registered in the French national health insurance database (SNDS) receiving between January 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020:

1. Synthetic anti-malarial drugs (AMD): Participants will be identified by the prescription of at least one synthetic AMD (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, ATC P01D1 and M01C respectively)
2. Anti-hypertensive drugs: Participants will be identified by the prescription of at least one Angiotensin receptor-blocking or Angiotensin converting- enzyme inhibitors, ATC C09A-D

No Exclusion Criteria

Refer to eligibility criteria

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