Title:Effectiveness of Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Agents in the Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
Author(s): Rozita Khodashahi, Hamidreza Naderi, Amin Bojdy and Mandana Khodashahi*
Affiliation:
- Rheumatic Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad,Iran
Keywords:
Antiviral therapy, coronavirus, cytokine storm, immunomodulatory, favipiravir, arbidol.
Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) posed a severe threat to global health. Therefore, new findings on effective
treatment for symptomatic patients with COVID-19 are considered among emergency issues.
This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of pharmacologic interventions in the
management of patients with COVID-19. All the articles published in three electronic databases, including
Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science, were searched from September 15 to
September 30, 2020. Eventually, 24 papers published till September 30 remained to be included in
this review. The effectiveness of immunomodulatory and antiviral agents in the treatment of patients
with COVID-19 was assessed in this review. The obtained results of the current review rejected
the potential of HCQ for the treatment of COVID; however, there was a clinical improvement in
patients treated with ruxolitinib in comparison to that reported for the control group. Methylprednisolone,
dexamethasone, and calcifediol were suggested as beneficial treatments for patients with
COVID-19. The potential efficacy of these antiviral drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 virus is controversial;
nevertheless, the triple combination of antiviral and immunomodulatory agents is effective
in suppressing the shedding of SARS-CoV-2. There have been no supportive data on the superiority
of favipiravir and LPV/r to standard care in the treatment of COVID-19. In addition, no difference
was observed between favipiravir and arbidol for the treatment of these patients. There was an
association between remdesivir treatment and a reduction of 5 days in clinical improvement among
COVID-19 patients. It is required to carry out further RCTs with an in-depth research basis on
COVID-19.