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Academic Editor: Peter A. McCullough
We evaluated the age-specific mortality of unselected adult outpatients infected
with SARS-CoV-2 treated early in a dedicated COVID-19 day hospital and we
assessed whether the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) + azithromycin (AZ) was
associated with improved survival in this cohort. A retrospective monocentric
cohort study was conducted in the day hospital of our center from March to
December 2020 in adults with PCR-proven infection who were treated as outpatients
with a standardized protocol. The primary endpoint was 6-week mortality, and
secondary endpoints were transfer to the intensive care unit and hospitalization
rate. Among 10,429 patients (median age, 45 [IQR 32–57] years; 5597 [53.7%]
women), 16 died (0.15%). The infection fatality rate was 0.06% among the 8315
patients treated with HCQ+AZ. No deaths occurred among the 8414 patients younger
than 60 years. Older age and male sex were associated with a higher risk of
death, ICU transfer, and hospitalization. Treatment with HCQ+AZ (0.17
[0.06–0.48]) was associated with a lower risk of death, independently of age,
sex and epidemic period. Meta-analysis evidenced consistency with 4 previous
outpatient studies (32,124 patients—Odds ratio 0.31 [0.20–0.47], I
