The Effects of Hydroxychloroquine in Patients with Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy

Inclusion criteria:

1. Male or female patient aged from 18 to 80 years;
2. Left ventricular dysfunction \[left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \<50%\] diagnosed by echocardiography (Simpson's biplane) within 30 days before randomization;
3. Chronic heart failure (lasting \>6 months) unresponsive to conventional supportive therapy;
4. High-sensitivity cardiac Troponin I (hs-cTnI) \>26.2 pg/mL and N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) \>169pg/mL;
5. Suffered from confirmed fulminant myocarditis in the past;
6. Diagnosed with chronic inflammatory cardiomyopathy confirmed by myocardial biopsy1;
7. Absence of cardiotropic viruses at polymerase chain reaction analysis;
8. Volunteer for the study and written informed consent;

Exclusion criteria:

1. Age \<18 or \>80 years;
2. Acute myocardial infarction occurred within the past month;
3. Subjects who have undergone cardiac surgery or cerebrovascular accidents within 6 months;
4. Preparing for heart transplantation;
5. With malignant arrhythmias such as long QT syndrome;
6. Pregnancy or lactation;
7. Have participated in any drug clinical trial within the three months;
8. Presence of contraindications to prednisolone and/or hydroxychloroquine (including hypersensitivity to prednisone or hydroxychloroquine, mainly untreated systemic infection, uncontrolled diabetes, poorly controlled endocrine diseases, osteoporosis, gastric or duodenal ulcer, uncontrolled hypertension, leukocytopenia (leukocyte counts \< 4×109/L), neutropenia (neutrophils \< 1.5×109/L), thrombocytopenia (platelet levels \< 130×109/L), anemia (hemoglobin levels \< 11 g/dL).
9. Confirmed or possible systemic inflammatory diseases;
10. On the brink of death or life expectancy of less than 1 year;
11. Drug or alcohol abuse;
12. cannot persist in taking medication due to various reasons;
13. Inability to provide informed consent.