Selected Antidiabetic Agents/Chloroquine; Hydroxychloroquine Interactions

This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.

Medical warning:

Moderate. These medicines may cause some risk when taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.

How the interaction occurs:

How this interaction occurs is not known.

What might happen:

Using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine with your diabetes medicine may make your blood sugar too low.

What you should do about this interaction:

Let your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) know that you are taking these medicines together. Your doctor may want you to check your blood sugar more often while taking chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. If you experience a sudden onset of chills, cold sweat, blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness, shaking, rapid heart rate, weakness, headache, fainting, tingling of the hands or feet, or hunger, check your blood sugar (if possible) and treat yourself for low blood sugar by eating a quick source of glucose such as glucose tablets or gel, table sugar, honey, candy, orange juice, or non-diet soda. Let your doctor know right away.Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.

  • 1.Smith GD, Amos TA, Mahler R, Peters TJ. Effect of chloroquine on insulin and glucose homoeostasis in normal subjects and patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Feb 21;294(6570):465-7.
  • 2.Wondafrash DZ, Desalegn TZ, Yimer EM, Tsige AG, Adamu BA, Zewdie KA. Potential Effect of Hydroxychloroquine in Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review on Preclinical and Clinical Trial Studies. J Diabetes Res 2020; 2020:5214751.
  • 3.Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine sulfate) US prescribing information. Concordia Pharmaceuticals Inc. December, 2023.
  • 4.Shojania K, Koehler BE, Elliott T. Hypoglycemia induced by hydroxychloroquine in a type II diabetic treated for polyarthritis. J Rheumatol 1999 Jan;26(1):195-6.
  • 5.Gerstein HC, Thorpe KE, Taylor DW, Haynes RB. The effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are refractory to sulfonylureas--a randomized trial. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2002 Mar;55(3):209-19.
  • 6.Pareek A, Chandurkar N, Thomas N, Viswanathan V, Deshpande A, Gupta OP, Shah A, Kakrani A, Bhandari S, Thulasidharan NK, Saboo B, Devaramani S, Vijaykumar NB, Sharma S, Agrawal N, Mahesh M, Kothari K. Efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a double blind, randomized comparison with pioglitazone. Curr Med Res Opin 2014 Jul;30(7):1257-66.
  • 7.Gupta A. Real-World Clinical Effectiveness and Tolerability of Hydroxychloroquine 400 Mg in Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Subjects who are not Willing to Initiate Insulin Therapy (HYQ-Real-World Study). Curr Diabetes Rev 2019;15(6):510-519.

Selected from data included with permission and copyrighted by First Databank, Inc. This copyrighted material has been downloaded from a licensed data provider and is not for distribution, except as may be authorized by the applicable terms of use.

CONDITIONS OF USE: The information in this database is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals. The information is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions or adverse effects, nor should it be construed to indicate that use of a particular drug is safe, appropriate or effective for you or anyone else. A healthcare professional should be consulted before taking any drug, changing any diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment.