Abstract
What is known and Objective: Understanding investigational medications is important. Many older drugs are being investigated for repurposing against COVID-19. We comment on various drugs currently undergoing such trials to optimize their safe use. Comment: We describe medications used during early COVID-19 outbreaks in South Korea, focusing on practice aspects including the method of drug administration, drug formulation, patient-monitoring for adverse reactions and drug interactions informed by our experience during the 2015 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). We comment on hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir with zinc supplement, remdesivir, tocilizumab, ciclesonide, niclosamide and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). What is new and conclusion: Effective therapies are urgently needed to manage COVID-19, and existing drugs such as antivirals and antimalarials are under investigation for repurposing to meet this need. This process requires up-to-date drug information to ensure optimum use, particularly safety and efficacy profiles of the medications, until convincing evidence is reported.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1199-1205 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs |
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State | Published - 1 Oct 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Keywords
- COVID-19
- SARS-CoV-2
- investigational medication
- severe acute respiratory syndrome