Current advances in pharmacological treatments for patients with COVID-19
Open Access
- 10 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Korean Medical Association (KAMJE) in Journal of the Korean Medical Association
- Vol. 64 (5), 375-385
- https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2021.64.5.375
Abstract
Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, more than 150 million people in over 200 countries have been infected, with over 3 million people dying due to it, as of May 1, 2021. Many researchers are working continuously to find effective drug treatments for COVID-19; however, the optimal treatment approach remains unclear. In this article, current advances in pharmacological treatments for patients with COVID-19 are discussed. Data obtained from recent studies indicate a mortality benefit with the administration of dexamethasone or adjunctive tocilizumab and potential clinical benefits with remdesivir (with or without baricitinib). Several monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have been developed. The US Food and Drug Administration issued two emergency use authorizations: one for bamlanivimab/etesevimab and another for casirivimab/imdevimab for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, at high risk of progression to severe disease and/or hospitalization. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 indicates that antiviral treatments would be most beneficial in the early phase of the infection that is primarily driven by replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, whereas immunosuppressive/anti-inflammatory therapies are likely to be more beneficial during the late phase of the infection, when the disease is driven by an exaggerated immune/inflammatory response to the virus that causes tissue damage.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Remdesivir for 5 or 10 Days in Patients with Severe Covid-19The New England Journal of Medicine, 2020
- Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Final ReportThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2020
- Effect of Convalescent Plasma on Mortality among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: Initial Three-Month ExperiencePublished by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ,2020
- Impact of corticosteroid therapy on outcomes of persons with SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, or MERS-CoV infection: a systematic review and meta-analysisLeukemia, 2020
- Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trialThe Lancet, 2020
- Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines on the Treatment and Management of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2020
- Remdesivir, lopinavir, emetine, and homoharringtonine inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitroAntiviral Research, 2020
- Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, ChinaThe Lancet, 2020
- Interim Guidelines on Antiviral Therapy for COVID-19Infection & Chemotherapy, 2020
- Use of Convalescent Plasma Therapy in Two COVID-19 Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in KoreaJournal of Korean Medical Science, 2020