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Review
. 2021 Jan;14(1):24-38.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.11.009. Epub 2020 Dec 7.

Impact of repurposed drugs on the symptomatic COVID-19 patients

Iqbal Hussain  1 , Afzal Hussain  2 , Mohamed F Alajmi  3 , Md Tabish Rehman  4 , Samira Amir  5
Affiliations
Review

Impact of repurposed drugs on the symptomatic COVID-19 patients

Iqbal Hussain et al. J Infect Public Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus capable of causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was declared as a global public health emergency on January 30, 2020, by the World Health Organization. In this devastating situation, precautionary measures, early diagnosis, and repurposed drugs appear to be timely and decisive factors by which to handle this problem until the discovery of an effective, dedicated vaccine or medicine is made. Currently, some researchers and clinicians have claimed evidence exists in favor of the use of some antimalarial drugs (chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine) antiviral drugs (remdesivir, favipiravir, lopinavir, ritonavir, umifenovir) vitamins, traditional Chinese medicines, and herbal medicines against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on the available literature, this review article sought to highlight the current understanding of the origin, transmission, diagnosis, precautionary measures, infection and drug action mechanisms, therapeutic role, and toxicities of targeted drugs for the prevention and cure of COVID-19. This review may be useful for developing further strategies as a blueprint and understanding the mentioned drugs' mechanisms to elucidate the possible target of action by which to successfully freeze the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chloroquine; Diagnosis; Drug toxicities; Favipiravir; Hydroxychloroquine; Lopinavir; Precautionary measures; Remdesivir; Ritonavir; SARS-CoV-2; Umifenovir.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) Total number of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from December 31, 2019 to October 6, 2020 around the world, (B) Total number of deaths by COVID-19 around the world. (The numbers are retrieved from ECDC) [3].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human beings and target of potential agents.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Chemical structure of potential repurposed drugs.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Comparison of cytotoxicity of various drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 [72].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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