scholarly journals Potential pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Narrative Review.

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (04) ◽  
pp. 434-446
Author(s):  
Taha Bin Arif ◽  
Javeria Saquib ◽  
Ayman Iqbal ◽  
Shajeea Arshad Ali ◽  
Farea Ahmed

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread to 215 countries and territories. Due to the high transmission rates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the disease has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Scientists are striving to investigate and contribute new findings of the disease to the literature, especially related to the treatments and preventive measures that can be undertaken to curb its transmission. Multiple studies regarding medical interventions such as antivirals use, mesenchymal stem cell therapy, and convalescent plasma therapy have been published to date. Furthermore, non-pharmacological measures including the usage of personal protective equipment, undertaking proper hand hygiene, and social distancing has been reported to suppress the spread of this infection. However, a definite cure has not been discovered yet. In this review, we have summarized the effectiveness, potential risks, and side effects of all pharmacological agents and non-pharmacological preventive strategies as well as the prospects of possible vaccine for COVID-19.

Author(s):  
Grigoris Gerotziafas ◽  
Mariella Catalano ◽  
Ioannis Theodorou ◽  
Patrick van Dreden ◽  
Vincent Marechal ◽  
...  

One year after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and despite the implementation of mandatory physical barriers and social distancing, humanity remains challenged by a long-lasting and devastating public health crisis. Non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) are efficient mitigation strategies. The success of these intense NPI is dependent on the approval and commitment of the population. The launch of a mass vaccination program in many countries in late December 2020 with mRNA vaccines, adenovirus-based vaccines, and inactivated virus vaccines has generated hope for the end of the pandemic. Current issues: The continuous appearance of new pathogenic viral strains and the ability of vaccines to prevent infection and transmission raise important concerns as we try to achieve community immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. The need of a second and even third generation of vaccines and the possibility of potentially harmful side-effects of the vaccines (i.e. venous thromboembolism ) have already been acknowledged. Perspectives: There is a critical and urgent need for a balanced and integrated strategy for the management of the COVID-19 outbreaks organized on three axes: (1) Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, (2) Detection and early diagnosis of patients at risk of disease worsening, and (3) Anticipation of medical care (PDA). Conclusion: The “PDA strategy” integrated into state policy for the support and expansion of health systems and introduction of digital organization (i.e. telemedicine, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology) is of major importance for the preservation of citizens’ health and life world-wide.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba K. Nabih

Abstract Background The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was announced as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). With the increased number of infected and dead victims daily all over the world, it becomes necessary to stop or overcome its rapid spread. Main body Although the production of vaccine or even specified effective anti-virus may take about six months to a year, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) may be clinically used as a safe treatment to save and improve the quality of life of patients with a variety of immunodeficiency diseases such as lymphocytopenia, which is a common clinical feature in COVID-19. Conclusion Through the current review, it was concluded that this passive immunization may promote the immunity to better fight against the virus, so the survival of the patients could be kept longer. The efficacy of immunotherapy with IVIg would be greater if the immune IgG antibodies were collected from convalescent plasma therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol III (I) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Saad Kausar ◽  
Muhammad Imran Ashraf ◽  
Fiza Siddiq

This article is an effort to examine socio-political and economic impact of COVID-19 to state system global politics. Further, this study analyzes the response of US, China, Russia, India and Pakistan to Covid-19. Starting in December of 2019, first suspected as a mild cold in a seafood merchant of Hua'nan market was proved to be a fine example of "Butterfly" or you may call it "Domino" effect. At first it was taken by the world community an epidemic later regarded as a global pandemic engulfing over million of earthlings in matter of days, responsible for seizing its originating country and crippling the world's economy. As of 26 March 2020, the number of confirmed cases in the country is 1,179, with 21 recoveries and 9 deaths. World Health Organization has appreciated Pakistan for taking meaningful and timely steps deal with Corona Virus. The efforts to deal with Covid-19 by states with the help of World Health organization (WHO) are admirable. WHO is urging all countries to prepare for the potential arrival of COVID-19 by readying emergency response systems; increasing capacity to detect and care for patients; ensuring hospitals have the space, supplies and necessary personnel; and developing life-saving medical interventions. States in their own operational capacity are working around; Preparedness & Response, Containment and Mitigation.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 945
Author(s):  
Saman Zafar ◽  
Muhammad Sohail Arshad ◽  
Sameen Fatima ◽  
Amna Ali ◽  
Aliyah Zaman ◽  
...  

SARS-CoV-2 has affected people from all age groups, races and ethnicities. Given that many infected individuals are asymptomatic, they transmit the disease to others unknowingly, which has resulted in the spread of infection at an alarming rate. This review aims to provide an overview of the pathophysiology, preventive measures to reduce the disease spread, therapies currently in use, an update on vaccine development and opportunities for vaccine delivery. The World Health Organization has advised several precautions including social distancing, hand washing and the use of PPE including gloves and face masks for minimizing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. At present, several antiviral therapies previously approved for other infections are being repositioned to study their efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. In addition, some medicines (i.e., remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine) have received emergency use authorisation from the FDA. Plasma therapy has also been authorised for emergency use for the treatment of COVID-19 on a smaller scale. However, no vaccine has been approved so far against this virus. Nevertheless, several potential vaccine targets have been reported, and development of different types of vaccines including DNA, mRNA, viral vector, inactivated, subunit and vaccine-like particles is in process. It is concluded that a suitable candidate delivered through an advanced drug delivery approach would effectively boost the immune system against this coronavirus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Meijers ◽  
Piergiorgio Messa ◽  
Claudio Ronco

The World Health Organization has recognized the pandemic nature of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) outbreak. A large proportion of positive patients require hospitalization, while 5–6% of them may need more aggressive therapies in intensive care. Most governments have recommended social separation and severe measures of prevention of further spreading of the epidemic. Because hemodialysis (HD) patients need to access hospital and dialysis center facilities 3 times a week, this category of patients requires special attention. In this editorial, we tried to summarize the experience of our centers that hopefully may contribute to help other centers and colleagues that are facing the coming wave of the epidemic. Special algorithms for COVID-19 spreading in the dialysis population, recommendations for isolation and preventive measures in positive HD patients, and finally directions to manage logistics and personnel are reported. These recommendations should be considered neither universal nor absolute. Instead, they require local adjustments based on geographic location, cultural and social environments, and level of available resources.


Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Feiz Arefi ◽  
Mohsen Poursadeqiyan

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a highly contagious acute respiratory syndrome and has been declared a pandemic in more than 209 countries worldwide. At the time of writing, no preventive vaccine has been developed and tested in the community. This study was conducted to review studies aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus worldwide. METHODS: This study was a review of the evidence-based literature and was conducted by searching databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect, until April 2020. The search was performed based on keywords including “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, and “prevention”. The list of references in the final studies has also been re-reviewed to find articles that might not have been obtained through the search. The guidelines published by trustworthy organizations such as the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control have been used in this study. CONCLUSION: So far, no vaccine or definitive treatment for COVID-19 has been invented, and the disease has become a pandemic. Therefore, observation of hand hygiene, disinfection of high-touch surfaces, observation of social distance, and lack of presence in public places are recommended as preventive measures. Moreover, to control the situation and to reduce the incidence of the virus, some of the measures taken by the decision-making bodies and the guidelines of the deterrent institutions to strengthen telecommuting of employees and reduce the presence of people in the community and prevent unnecessary activities, are very important.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Sapkota ◽  
Ganesh Dangal ◽  
Madhu Koirala ◽  
Kalyan Sapkota ◽  
Asmita Poudel ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus, is currently affecting a large population across the globe. World health organization (WHO) has already declared COVID-19, a pandemic, and the world is fighting to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Nepal has taken several preventive measures to control the coronavirus outbreak. However, some additional steps are needed to prevent community transmission of the disease. This brief communication discusses the government of Nepal actions and provides recommendations for the prevention and control of COVID-19 infection in Nepal.


Author(s):  
Narendra Kumar Chaudhary ◽  
Nabina Chaudhary ◽  
Manis Dahal ◽  
Biswash Guragain ◽  
Sumie Rai ◽  
...  

Today, the entire globe is struggling to deal with the greatest pandemic of the century, COVID-19. With no clinically approved treatments available, we are left with no options other than following the preventive measures issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). Among many others, hand washing with soap and water has been emphasized the most because it is cost-effective and easily accessible to the general public. Various studies have reported that soaps offer unique chemical properties that can disinfect the virus as a whole. However, there is still ambiguity in the general public about whether soaps can really shield us from this highly contagious disease. In an attempt to help eliminate the ambiguity, we analyzed the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of soap and its prospect for preventing the spread of COVID-19. In this paper, we have provided an overview of the history and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), the detailed mechanisms of the deactivation of viruses by soaps, and the potential effectiveness of soap in eliminating coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.


Author(s):  
Shakir Khan

<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the COVID-19 epidemic a global health emergency on January 30 and confirmed its transformation into a pandemic on March 11. China has been the hardest hit since the virus's outbreak, which may date back to late November. Saudi Arabia realized the danger of the Coronavirus in March 2020, took the initiative to take a set of pre-emptive decisions that preceded many countries of the world, and worked to harness all capabilities to confront the outbreak of the epidemic. Several researchers are currently using various mathematical and machine learning-based prediction models to estimate this pandemic's future trend. In this work, the SEIR model was applied to predict the epidemic situation in Saudi Arabia and evaluate the effectiveness of some epidemic control measures, and finally, providing some advice on preventive measures.</p>


Author(s):  
Irina Tyurina

The application of the nomenclature of medical services in the Russian Federation revealed limitations of its structure and content. The analysis of international experience in the classification of medical interventions can help to improve this nomenclature. World Health Organization has prepared a draft of the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI), which should be a part of a family of health-related international classifications. It is not yet finished and cannot be used for the classification of medical services on a national level; however, its main principles have already been formulated. All interventions are classified according to three levels (axes): target of intervention; action (the essence of intervention), and means. Lists of types of targets, actions and means have been developed, and recommendations on the classification and coding of medical interventions have been proposed for various situations. There are significant differences in the approach to the classification of medical interventions between ICHI and the Russian nomenclature of medical services. A detailed comparative analysis of the classification principles in ICHI and in the nomenclature is needed.


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