China has managed to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with confinement measurements and treatment strategies, while other countries are struggling to contain the spread. This study discussesthe guidelines related to COVID-19 in China in order to provide important references for other countries in the fight against COVID-19. Chinese guidelines relevant to COVID-19 were systematically searched via the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, YiMaiTong database, and World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 database on March 20th , 2020. Guideline information was extracted, including date of publication, source, objectives and the target population. Guidelines specific to the pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 were further investigated to identify the types of antivirus drugs recommended and to report on how treatment recommendations for COVID-19 have evolvedovertime. A total of 114 guidelines were identified, of which 87 were national guidelines and 27 were regional guidelines.

The scope of included guidelines consisted of:

the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, the management of hospital departments and specific diseases during the outbreak of COVID-19. Sixty-four of theincluded guidelines targeted all COVID-19 patients, whilethe remainingguidelines concentrated onspecialpatientpopulations (i.e., geriatric population, pediatric population, and pregnant population) or patients with coexistingdiseases. Twenty-three guidelines focused on the pharmacological treatments for all COVID-19 patients.Interferon, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Ribavirin, Chloroquine, and Umifenovir represented the most recommended antivirus drugs. With the emergence of encouraging results from preclinical and preliminary clinical studies, Chloroquine Phosphate was recommended in the national Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for NovelCoronavirus Pneumonia (6th version) on February 19th, 2020. Thereafter, more detailed guidelines regarding theadjustment of dosage regimens and the monitoring of adverse events of Chloroquine Phosphatewere published. To date, 8 Chinese guidelines have recommendedChloroquine Phosphate or Hydroxychloroquine as mainstream antivirusdrug for the treatment of COVID-19. China has generated a plethora of guidelines covering almost all aspects of COVID-19. Chloroquine, as one widely affordable treatment, holds great potential to become the gold standard choice as more clinical evidence is shared by researchers from China as well as other countries.