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Coronaviruses

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ISSN (Print): 2666-7967
ISSN (Online): 2666-7975

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Mini-Review Article

Off Label Medication to Combat COVID-19: Review Results to Date

Author(s): Netra P. Neupane, Aman K. Das, Anuj Kumar Singh and Amita Verma*

Volume 2, Issue 4, 2021

Published on: 29 July, 2020

Page: [496 - 506] Pages: 11

DOI: 10.2174/2666796701999200729145342

Abstract

Background: Severe viral pneumonia cases were observed in the people of Wuhan, China in December 2019. It has already affected almost every country around the globe and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. We aim to evaluate the therapeutics and safety of various off label COVID-19 drugs.

Methods: PubMed, Research Gate, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Centre for Disease control and prevention (CDC) portal, Chinese Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CCDC) portal, World Health Organization (WHO) portal were searched for obtaining reliable data.

Result: COVID-19 is creating a storm of deaths and active cases globally, which is forcing the pharmaceutical companies and scientists to work day and night to find an effective and safer anti-COVID-19 medication. Various in vitro and clinical trials had been performed as well as are currently ongoing to analyze the mechanisms and therapeutics of off label medications like Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, Amodiaquine, Azithromycin, Remdesivir, Favipiravir, Ritonavir/Lopinavir, Umifenovir, Oseltamivir, Ribavirin, Nafamostat, Camostat, Tocilizumab, Ivermectin, Nitazoxanide, Famotidine, Vitamin D, Corticosteroids and Dexamethasone. In vitro studies were performed by utilizing Vero E6 cells and hSLAM cells while open/closed, randomized/non-randomized, single-centered/multi-centered and retrospective clinical trials and case studies were organized to determine their safety and efficacy.

Conclusion: Although these drugs have shown promising results against COVID-19 patients, it cannot be concluded that these drugs are truly safe and effective because there are no conclusive evidence to support the facts since only limited researches and studies had been investigated.

Keywords: COVID-19, therapeutic, antiviral, hydroxychloroquine, off label, clinical trial, vitamin D.

Graphical Abstract

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