Management of COVID-19: A brief overview of the various treatment strategies

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a new challenge to the entire world. Many speculations revolve around its treatment. Numerous theories have been put forth and several medications have been tried, but not many promising results have been achieved. Objective: We aim to provide an overview of the various treatment modalities for patients with COVID-19. Methodology: A systematic search was performed to identify all the relevant studies on PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar published until May 23, 2020, as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Articles that reported the various treatment modalities for COVID-19 were included in the analysis. Results: Currently, only remdesivir has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of severe COVID-19. Corticosteroids and anticoagulant therapy have been recommended in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Some drugs such as lopinavir-ritonavir and Chinese herbal medicine have been shown to be beneficial in a few trials, while others such as chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, tocilizumab, sarilumab, oseltamivir, and plasma therapy are being tested in ongoing trials. Conclusion: No treatment has been definitively proven to be effective against COVID-19 to date. The only FDA-approved drug is remdesivir, and several others are under investigation. Anticoagulant therapy and corticosteroids (weak recommendation) have been recommended in patients with severe ARDS.