Treatment options for patients with severe COVID-19

• Published in: Global Health & Medicine Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 99 - 105
• Main Authors: Morishita, Momoko, Hojo, Masayuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Center for Global Health and Medicine 30.04.2023
• Subjects: anticoagulation therapy; high-flow nasal cannula therapy; immune-based agents; remdesivir; Review; high-flow nasal cannula therapy; anticoagulation therapy; remdesivir; immune-based agents
• ISSN: 2434-9186; 2434-9194; 2434-9194
• DOI: 10.35772/ghm.2023.01024

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the world for over 3 years. Treatment options have improved substantially during this period, including antiviral drugs, antibody drugs, immune-based agents, and vaccination. While these improvements have reduced mortality rates in patients with COVID-19, some patients still develop severe illness. In this review, we aimed to provide an overview of treatments for patients with severe COVID-19 from study reports and clinical experience. We discussed the treatments from two perspectives: respiratory care and drug treatments. In the respiratory care section, we discussed the usefulness of high-flow nasal cannula therapy and non-invasive ventilation as an alternative to invasive ventilation. In the drug treatments section, we focused on three classes for severe COVID-19 treatment: antiviral drugs, immune-based agents, and anticoagulation therapy. We did not discuss antibody drugs and vaccination, as they are not used for severe COVID-19 treatment.