Clinical evaluation of selected Pharmacological Treatments used for Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus is an enveloped RNA virus, from the genus Betacoronavirus , that could affect birds, humans, and other mammals. The WHO has described the novel coronavirus disease as COVID-19(1). Objective: We have conducted this review to focus on the studies that assessed the treatment efficacy and safety of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and describe its relationship with the clinical outcomes of patients. Method: PubMed, was searched for studies on the clinical evaluation of selected currently used treatments for COVID-19. We included six studies about therapeutic activity of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, two case series about oseltamivir and three studies about lopinavir/ritonavir Results: Some of studies have been demonstrated and approved for a wider use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, others showed that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the the routine use of this drug in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Other treatments have insufficient evidence to recommend the use (lopinavir-Ritonavir or oseltamivir) for COVID-19 outside of research studies. Conclusion: In order to determine efficacy and safety of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, more randomized clinical trials are required. Ideally, these studies should be double-blinded and conducted in a range of settings.