Peer-review started: September 18, 2020
First decision: December 1, 2020
Revised: December 2, 2020
Accepted: December 13, 2020
Article in press: December 13, 2020
Published online: January 25, 2021
Processing time: 124 Days and 15.7 Hours
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) pandemic has placed a tremendous burden on healthcare systems globally. Therapeutics for treatment of the virus are extremely inconsistent due to the lack of time evaluating drug efficacy in clinical trials. Currently, there is a deficiency of published literature that comprehensively discusses all therapeutics being considered for the treatment of COVID-19. A review of the literature was performed for articles related to therapeutics and clinical trials in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. We used PubMed, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov to search for articles relative to the topic of interest. We used the following keywords: “COVID-19”, “therapeutics”, “clinical trials”, “treatment”, “FDA”, “ICU”, “mortality”, and “management”. In addition, searches through the references of retrieved articles was also performed. In this paper, we have elaborated on the therapeutic strategies that have been hypothesized or trialed to-date, the mechanism of action of each therapeutic, the clinical trials finished or in-process that support the use of each therapeutic, and the adverse effects associated with each therapeutic. Currently, there is no treatment that has been proven to provide significant benefit in reducing morbidity and mortality. There are many clinical trials for numerous different therapeutic agents currently underway. By looking back and measuring successful strategies from previous pandemics in addition to carrying out ongoing research, we provide ourselves with the greatest opportunity to find treatments that are beneficial.
Core Tip: As coronavirus disease 2019 continues to affect the global community, researchers are working diligently to determine the efficacy of therapeutic agents to fight this virus in clinical trials. Currently, there is a lack of published literature that comprehensively discusses all of the therapeutic agents under investigation. In this manuscript, we provide readers with a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the current state of therapeutics including the proposed mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, recommended dosages, adverse effects, and efficacy data from clinical trials.