Therapeutic Options and Critical Care Strategies in COVID-19 Patients; Where Do We Stand in This Battle?

Abstract

A pandemic of COVID-19 made an appearance in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019 and rapidly became a serious concern worldwide, with killing more than 238000 people until 3rd May 2020. Given the fact that a vaccine against the virus probably won’t be available anytime in the near future, the therapeutic strategies have become more prominent. Many supposedly effective drugs are under evaluation which may hinder the replication of SARS-CoV-2, and subsequently the infection. Lately on 1th may 2020, FDA authorized the use of experimental drug, Remdesivir for "emergency purpose" in COVID-19 cases. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, among the very first under-trial drugs, have been revealed to have promising impacts in treatment of SARS-CoV2. Broad-spectrum antivirals as well as HIV protease-inhibitors are still subject to assessment. Particularly angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) inhibitors are increasingly taken into consideration because of ACE2 being recognized as a host-cell receptor for COVID-19. Immune-Enhancement therapy by Interferons and Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been shown to be effective in some cases. Moreover, Convalescent Plasma Therapy and auxiliary blood purification were considered as the treatment of SARS-CoV2 infection. Among the critically ill patients, Oxygen-therapy, timely usage of inflammatory inhibitors, and controlling viral shedding by antivirals may reduce the mortality and morbidity of COVID-19

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