6 Safe Treatments to Survive COVID-19 Infection

There is no quick treatment yet, but Through an unprecedented global research effort, various treatments are helping patients survive COVID-19 and stay completely out of hospital.

“Target of COVID-19 treatments two general problems -lists William G. Bain, professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh, who with two colleagues has just published a document which synthesizes the most precise experiences in the search for the cure of the disease -: the ability of the coronavirus to spread throughout the body and the damage caused by the body’s immune system response ”. When the virus enters the body, it takes over the cells and uses them to replicate. In response, the body esends inflammatory signals and immune cells to fight the virus. In some patients, this inflammatory response it can continue even after the virus is under control, resulting in damage to the lungs and other organs.

The best tool this is prevention, including the the use of face masks and vaccines. Vaccines train the immune system to fight off attackers. “With less risk of uncontrolled infection – warns Bath-, may reduce the risk of death from COVID-19 to almost zero. But vaccine stocks are limited, so treatment of infected patients remains crucial ”.

“As doctors who work with patients with COVID-19 – explains Georgios D. Kitsios, another of the researchers of the study, also belonging to the University of Pittsburgh-, we tracked drug trials and successes. There are six commonly used successful treatments for COVID-19.

Two types of promising treatments involve inject antiviral antibodies into high-risk COVID-19 patients before the person becomes seriously ill. “Our bodies naturally create antibodies to recognize foreign invaders and help fight them,” Kitsios explains. But the production of natural antibodies takes several days, and SARS-CoV-2 replicates quickly. Studies show that injecting patients with antibodies soon after symptoms appear can help protect against serious infections. “

The monoclonal antibodies designed in the laboratory can bind to SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the virus from entering and infecting cells. Include Bamlanivimab and combination therapy casirivimab / imdevimab developped by Regeneron. The United States Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for these therapies because they were found to protect high-risk patients from hospitalization and death. “However,” he warns Bath-, once patients are sick enough to require hospitalization, studies have not found any proven benefit of them”.

the convalescent plasma this is Another way to give antibodies is to draw blood from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. It is administered primarily in research settings, as the clinical evidence to date is mixed. “Some trials show benefits in the early stages of the disease,” the team said in the report. Other studies have shown no benefit in hospitalized patients ”.

Convalescent plasma may play an adjunct therapy role for some patients due to growing threat of mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants , What may escape treatment with monoclonal antibodies. However, careful research is needed.

Once patients are so sick that they need to be hospitalized, treatments change. “Most people in this situation have shortness of breath and low oxygen levels,” he explains. Bath-. Lack of oxygen occurs when the virus and the corresponding immune response injure the lungs, causing inflammation of the airways in the lungs which restrict the amount of oxygen entering the blood. COVID-19 hospital patients generally need supplemental medical oxygen to help them breathe. Doctors often treat patients receiving oxygen with the antiviral agent remdesivir and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids. “

Remdesivir, originally designed to treat hepatitis C, prevents the coronavirus from replicating interfere with your genetic components. “It has been shown to contribute Bath- What shortens the length of hospital stays and doctors can prescribe it to patients receiving oxygen soon after arriving at the hospital. “

The steroids, For its part, They calm the body’s immune response and have been used for decades to treat inflammatory disorders. “Too are widely available drugs -signal Bath-, cheap and well studied, they were therefore among the first treatments to enter clinical trials for COVID-19. Several studies have shown that Low-dose steroids reduce the number of deaths in hospitalized patients receiving oxygen, including the sickest patients in intensive care units or in ICUs ”. Following the results of the historical RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP COVID-19 studies, Steroids are now the standard of care for COVID-19 hospital patients who are treated with oxygen.

The inflammation during COVID-19 and other viral infections as well may increase the risk of blood clots, which heart attacks, blows and dangerous clots in the lungs. “Many COVID-19 patients receive anticoagulants heparin or enoxaparin to prevent clots from forming before they occur ”, explains Kitsios. First data from a large trial in patients with COVID-19 suggests that the hospitalized benefit from higher doses anti coagulants.

“Some patients with COVID-19 get so sick that they need high oxygen levels or a ventilator to help them breathe -indicated Bath-. There are several therapies available for intensive care patients, but they have not been shown to benefit from high doses of anticoagulants. “

ICU patients with COVID-19 have more likely to survive if they are on steroids, according to studies. “However, low dose steroids alone may not be enough to stop excessive inflammation ”, affirms Bath. Tocilizumab this is a laboratory antibody that blocks the interleukin-6 pathway, which can cause inflammation during COVID-19 and other illnesses. New test results REMAP-CAP which have not yet been peer reviewed suggest that uA single dose of tocilizumab given within one to two days of ventilation reduced the risk of death in patients already receiving low dose steroids. TIt has also been shown that benefits patients with high levels of inflammation in early results of another try.

“These innovative therapies they can help, but attentive supportive care in the intensive care unit is also crucial – explains Bath-. Decades of in-depth research have defined the basics of management to help patients with severe lung infections who need ventilators ”. These included avoid underinflation and overinflation ventilator lung surgery, treatment of pain and anxiety with low levels of sedating drugs, and regular placement of some patients with low oxygen levels in the abdomen, among many other interventions. The same key principles will likely apply to patients with COVID-19 to help them survive and recover from serious illness that can last for weeks or months.

the medical progress since the start of the pandemic, it has been impressive. Doctors now have vaccines, high-risk ambulatory antiviral antibodies and various in-patient treatments. Continued research will be crucial to improving our ability to fight disease around the world.

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