Identification and analysis of ongoing registered clinical intervention trials on COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction The World Health Organization declared the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Several studies have been proposed and started since then, mainly covering prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment. Objective To identify and categorize all intervention studies up to the end of May related to SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to population and geo-graphical location (emphasis in Latin America) and to verify if there is any correlation according to purpose, phase, and recruitment status. Methods One thousand six hundred seventy-two trials were selected from 1705 until May 24 on the World Health Organization clinical trials platform related to COVID-19. Jupyter and Python tools were used for data processing and cleaning. Results One thousand six hundred seventy-two intervention studies related to SARS-CoV-2 infection were found. China, The United States, Iran, France, and Spain are the countries participating in the largest number of studies, while only 4,1% are from Latin America (mostly Brazilian). 28 studies are focusing only on older adults, and ten studies are based exclusively on populations under 19 years of age. Conclusion The worldwide interest in this new disease is reflected in the increasing number of intervention studies that are being carried out to date. How-ever, the studies analyzed do not cover the most vulnerable age groups proportionally and do not have equitable participation of all the coun-tries. In Latin America, this problem is exacerbated by the region's social, economic, and political limitations. Because it is an emerging disease, there is still not enough information to establish strong correlations between the analyzed variables, and the standardization of protocols is not yet definite because most of the studies are in progress.

Bibliometric Analysis of the Worldwide Scientific Production on COVID-19 Infection and Cerebrovascular Disease

“…[ 1 ] For this reason, there has been a continuous search for information on its adequate management using various studies and trials according to age groups. [ 2 ] It has been described that the Sars-Cov-2 virus has a protein in the form of a spike as a component, which, upon binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor, facilitates the entry of the virus into other cells. [ 3 ] Because this receptor is expressed in alveolar cells, myocytes, arterial muscle cells, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, liver, etc., it gives rise to a varied clinical picture with gastrointestinal, neurological, renal, and dermatological symptoms, among others.…”