Table 5. Table of evidence of the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of mild COVID-19. Question: Should hydroxychloroquine, compared with controls, be used for the treatment of mild COVID-19?

Certainty assessment							Patient (n)s		Effect		Certainty	Importance
Studies (n)	Study design	Risk of bias	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Other considerations	HCQ	CONTROL	Relative (95% CI)	Absolute (95% CI)
HOSPITALIZATION
4	randomized trials	not serious	not serious	not serious	not serious	none	23/714 (3.2%)	36/747 (4.8%)	RR 0.68 (0.41 to 1.14)	15 fewer per 1,000 (from 28 fewer to 7 more)	HIGH
ADVERSE EFFECTS
2	randomized trials	not serious	very serious a	not serious	serious b	publication bias strongly suspected c	138/426 (32.4%)	92/438 (21.0%)	RR 1.47 (0.79 to 2.72)	99 more per 1,000 (from 44 fewer to 361 more)	VERY LOW
SERIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS
3	randomized trials	not serious	not serious	not serious	not serious	none	11/502 (2.2%)	12/536 (2.2%)	RR 0.97 (0.44 to 2.16)	1 fewer per 1,000 (from 13 fewer to 26 more)	HIGH
DEATHS
4	randomized trials	not serious	not serious	not serious	not serious	none	1/714 (0.1%)	1/747 (0.1%)	RR 1.07 (0.15 to 7.86)	0 fewer per 1,000 (from 1 fewer to 9 more)	HIGH

HCQ: hydroxychloroquine; and RR: Risk ratio.

Explanations

a. HETEROGENEITY GREATER THAN 75%

b. WIDE CI

c. OUTLIER