Prevention of venous thromboembolism by administration of hydroxychloroquine. A preliminary report.
A placebo or the antimalarial agent hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), which inhibits platelet adhesiveness, and, to a lesser extent, platelet aggregation, was given to 100 patients between forty and ninety-five years old (average age, seventy-four years) who had either fractures or orthopaedic operations involving the skeleton between the knee and the pelvis. Medication was started at the time of admission in a blind, randomized way, fifty patients receiving hydroxychloroquine (200 milligrams three times a day) and fifty, a placebo. No untoward bleeding complications were noted in the treated group. Eight instances of thromboembolism were encountered in the control group as compared with one in the hydroxychloroquine-treated group, a statistically significant difference at the 1.5 per cent level.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007866:Leg / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013924:Thrombophlebitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
D010919:Placebos; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine