European review for medical and pharmacological sciences
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Apr 2020
ReviewRadiological role in the detection, diagnosis and monitoring for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Radiological examinations, especially computed tomography (CT), play an important role in the fight against COVID-19. A comprehensive and timely review of radiological role in the fight against COVID-19 remains urgent and mandatory. ⋯ The typical radiological features of COVID-19 include bilateral, multifocal, and multilobar ground glass opacification with patchy consolidation, a peripheral/subpleural or posterior distribution (or both), mainly in the lower lobes. A combination of chest CT and repeat Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing may be beneficial for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in the setting of strongly clinical suspicion. Chest CT may improve the sensitivity for COVID-19 diagnosis, but patients' exposure to radiation should be kept as low as possible especially for children and pregnant women patients.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Apr 2020
ReviewSARS-CoV-2 causing pneumonia-associated respiratory disorder (COVID-19): diagnostic and proposed therapeutic options.
SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the outbreak of severe respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Wuhan City, China and is now spreading rapidly throughout the world. The prompt outbreak of COVID-19 and its quick spread without any controllable measure defines the severity of the situation. In this crisis, a collective pool of knowledge about the advancement of clinical diagnostic and management for COVID-19 is a prerequisite. ⋯ Additionally, we have discussed various therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 under different categories, like the possible treatment plans with drug (antiviral drugs and anti-cytokines) therapy for disease prevention. Lastly, potentials candidates for the vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection have been described. Collectively, the review provides an overview of the SARS-CoV-2 infection outbreak along with the recent advancements and strategies for diagnosis and therapy of COVID-19.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Apr 2020
The correlation between the spread of COVID-19 infections and weather variables in 30 Chinese provinces and the impact of Chinese government mitigation plans.
On February 1, 2020, China announced a novel coronavirus CoVID-19 outbreak to the public. CoVID-19 was classified as an epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although the disease was discovered and concentrated in Hubei Province, China, it was exported to all of the other Chinese provinces and spread globally. ⋯ The results revealed that weather conditions largely influence the spread of coronavirus in most of the Chinese provinces. This study has determined that increasing temperature and short-wave radiation would positively increase the number of confirmed cases, mortality rate, and recovered cases. The findings of this study agree with the results of our previous study.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Apr 2020
ReviewEfficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19.
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also called COVID-19, has caused a pandemic which has swiftly involved the entire world and raised great public health concerns. The scientific community is actively exploring treatments that would potentially be effective in combating COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine has been demonstrated to limit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro. In malarial pandemic countries, chloroquine is widely used to treat malaria. In malarial non-pandemic nations, chloroquine is not widely used. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine share similar chemical structures and mechanisms of action. The aim of this study was to indirectly investigate the efficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 by determining the prevalence of COVID-19 in malaria pandemic and non-pandemic nations. We sought evidence to support or refute the hypothesis that these drugs could show efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. ⋯ Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have antiviral characteristics in vitro. The findings support the hypothesis that these drugs have efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. People are currently using these drugs for malaria. It is reasonable, given the hypothetical benefit of these two drugs, that they are now being tested in clinical trials to assess their effectiveness to combat this global health crisis.
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In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in Wuhan, China, and it subsequently spread in many countries around the world. Many efforts have been applied to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19, and many scientific studies have been conducted in a short period of time. ⋯ Current researches on potentially effective treatment alternatives are discussed. We hope this review can help medical workers and researchers around the world contain the current COVID-19 pandemic.