FAQ Module: Treatments
Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19 Treatments

Released: July 08, 2020

Expiration: July 07, 2021

Arthur Kim
Arthur Kim, MD
Sharon R. Lewin
Sharon R. Lewin, AO, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS
Jens D. Lundgren
Jens D. Lundgren, MD, DMSc
Vikramjit Mukherjee
Vikramjit Mukherjee, MD
Roger Paredes
Roger Paredes, MD, PhD
Lynora Saxinger
Lynora Saxinger, MD, FRCPC, CTropMed
Leo Yee-Sin
Leo Yee-Sin, MBBS, MPH, MRCP, FRCP, FAMS

Activity

Progress
1
Course Completed
References

References

 

ACTIV-2. Available at: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-test-antibodies-other-experimental-therapeutics-mild-moderate-covid-19. Accessed March 4, 2021.

ACTIV-3/TICO LY-CoV555 Study Group. A neutralizing monoclonal antibody for hospitalized patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:905-914.

Ahmed S, Zimba O, Gasparyan A. Thrombosis in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through the prism of Virchow’s triad. Clin Rheumatol. 2020;Jul 11:1-15.

Angus DC, Derde L, Al-Beidh F, et al. Effect of hydrocortisone on mortality and organ support in patients with severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 corticosteroid domain randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2020;324:1317-1329.

Bastard P, Rosen LB, Zhang Q, et al. Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19. Science. 2020;370:eabd4585.

Beigel JH, Tomashek KM, Dodd LE, et al. Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19—final report. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:1813-1826.

Bhimraj A, Morgan RL, Shumaker AH, et al. Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19. Infectious Diseases Society of America 2021; Version 4.1.1. Available at: https://www.idsociety.org/practice-guideline/covid-19-guideline-treatment-and-management/. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Caly L, Druce JD, Catton MG, et al. The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2020;178:104787.

Cao B, Wang Y, Wen D, et al. A trial of lopinavir–ritonavir in adults hospitalized with severe Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1787-1799.

Caly L, Druce JD, Catton MG, et al. The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2020;178:104787.

Chen P, Nirula A, Heller B, et al. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody LY-CoV555 in outpatients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:229-237.

ClinicalTrials.gov. Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of anti-spike (S) SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies for hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04426695. Accessed May 3, 2021.

ClinicalTrials.gov. Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of anti-spike (S) SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies of ambulatory adult and pediatric patients with COVID-19. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04425629. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Cui S, Chen S, Li X,e t al. Prevalence of venous thromboembolism in patients with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia. J Thromb Haemost. 2020;18:1421-1424.

Dyer O. Covid-19: Remdesivir has little or no impact on survival, WHO trial shows. BMJ. 2020;371:m4057.

Dastan F, Saffaei A, Haseli S, et al. Promising effects of tocilizumab in COVID-19: A non-controlled, prospective clinical trial. Int Immunopharmacol. 2020;88:106869.

Davoudi-Monfared E, Rahmani H, Khalili H, et al. A randomized clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of interferon β-1a in treatment of severe COVID-19. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020;64:e01061-20.

Dexamethasone [package insert]. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck.

Gharbharan A, Jordans CCE, GeurtsvanKessel C, et al. Convalescent plasma for COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial. medRxiv. Preprint available at: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.01.20139857v1. Accessed May 3, 2021. Note: This study has not been peer reviewed.

Goldman JD, Lye DCB, Hui DS, et al. Remdesivir for 5 or 10 days in patients with severe COVID-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:1827-1837.

Gottlieb RL, Nirula A, Chen P, et al. Effect of bamlanivimab as monotherapy or in combination with etesevimab on viral load in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2021;325:632-644.

Grand RL, Maisonnasse P, Aldon Y, et al. COVA1-18 neutralizing antibody protects against SARS-CoV-2 in three preclinical models. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2021:rs.3.rs-235272.

Infectious Diseases Society of America. Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19. Available at: https://www.idsociety.org/practice-guideline/covid-19-guideline-treatment-and-management/. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Ingraham NE, Lotfi-Emran S, Thielen BK, et al. Immunomodulation in COVID-19. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8:544-546.

Li L, Zhang W, Hu Y, et al. Effect of convalescent plasma therapy on time to clinical improvement in patients with severe and life-threatening COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2020;324:460-470.

Lilly. Lilly's bamlanivimab and etesevimab together reduced hospitalizations and death in phase 3 trial for early COVID-19. Available at: https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-bamlanivimab-and-etesevimab-together-reduced. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Llitjos J-F, Leclerc M, Chochois C, et al. High incidence of venous thromboembolic events in anticoagulated severe COVID-19 patients. J Thromb Haemost. 2020;18:1743-1746.

Marone EM, Bonalumi G, Curci R, et al. Characteristics of venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients: a multicenter experience from Northern Italy. Ann Vasc Surg. 2020;S0890-5096(20)30598-7.

Merck. Merck statement on ivermectin use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Available at: https://www.merck.com/news/merck-statement-on-ivermectin-use-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Morel J, Constantin A, Baron G, et al. Risk factors of serious infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab in the French Registry REGATE. Rhuematology. 2017;56:1746-1854.

National Institutes of Health. COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment guidelines. Available at: https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/. Accessed March 4, 2021.

National Institutes of Health. COVID-19 treatment guidelines: ivermectin. Available at: https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/antiviral-therapy/ivermectin/. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Pan H, Peto R, Henao-Restrepo AM, et al. Repurposed antiviral drugs for Covid-19—interim WHO Solidarity trial results. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:497-511.

Perrone F, Piccirillo MC, Ascierto PA, et al. Tocilizumab for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: the single-arm TOCIVID-19 prospective trial. J Transl Med. 2020;18:405.

Rahmani H, Davoudi-Monfared E, Nourian A, et al. Interferon β-1b in treatment of severe COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial. Int Immunopharmacol. 2020;88:106903.

RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with Covid-19: preliminary report. N Engl J Med. 2020;58:133.

RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Tocilizumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): preliminary results of a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. medRxiv 2021.02.11.21249258.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN-COV2 Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommends holding enrollment in hospitalized patients with high oxygen requirements and continuing enrollment in patients with low or no oxygen requirements. Available at: https://investor.regeneron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/regn-cov2-independent-data-monitoring-committee-recommends. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Regeneron's Covid-19 outpatient trial prospectively demonstrates that REGN-COV2 antibody cocktail significantly reduced virus levels and need for further medical attention. Available at: https://investor.regeneron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/regenerons-covid-19-outpatient-trial-prospectively-demonstrates/. Accessed May 3, 2021.

REMAP-CAP Investigators. Interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in critically ill patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021:NEJMoa2100433.

Rosenberg ES, Dufort EM, Udo T, et al. Association of treatment with hydroxychloroquine or azithromycin with in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 in New York State. 2020;323:2493-2502.

Saif MW, Bona R, Greenberg B. AIDS and thrombosis: retrospective study of 131 HIV-infected patients. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2001;15:311-320.

Spinner C, Gottlieb R, Criner G, et al. Effect of remdesivir vs standard care on clinical status at 11 days in patients with moderate COVID-19. JAMA. 2020;324:1048-1057.

Stone JH, Frigault MJ, Serling-Boyd NJ, et al. Efficacy of tocilizumab in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:2333-2344.

Thorlund K, Dron L, Park J, et al. A real-time dashboard of clinical trials for COVID-19. Lancet Digit Health. 2020;2:e286-e287.

US Food and Drug Administration. Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: FDA authorizes drug combination for treatment of COVID-19. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-drug-combination-treatment-covid-19. Accessed May 3, 2021.

US Food and Drug Administration. Fact sheet for health care providers: emergency use authorization (EUA) of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/141478/download. Accessed May 3, 2021.

US Food and Drug Administration. Fact sheet for health care providers: emergency use authorization (EUA) of bamlanivimab. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/143603/download. Accessed May 3, 2021.

US Food and Drug Administration. Fact sheet for health care providers: emergency use authorization (EUA) of casirivimab and imdevimab. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/143892/download. Accessed May 3, 2021.

US Food and Drug Administration. COVID-19 update: FDA broadens emergency use authorization for Veklury (remdesivir) to include all hospitalized patients for treatment of COVID-19. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/covid-19-update-fda-broadens-emergency-use-authorization-veklury-remdesivir-include-all-hospitalized. Accessed May 3, 2021.

Villar J, Ferrando C, Martínez D, et al. Dexamethasone treatment for the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8:267-276.

Wagstaff KM, Sivakumaran H, Heaton SM, et al. Ivermectin is a specific inhibitor of importin α/β-mediated nuclear import able to inhibit replication of HIV-1 and dengue virus. Biochem J. 2012;443:851-856.

Wang P, Nair MS, Liu L, et al. Antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. bioRxiv 2021.01.25.428137.

Warrington TP, Bostwick JM. Psychiatric adverse effects of corticosteroids. Mayo Clin Proc. 2006;81:1361-1367.

Weinreich DM, Sivapalasingam S, Norton T, et al. REGN-COV2, a neutralizing antibody cocktail, in outpatients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:238-251.

Wiersinga WJ, Rhodes A, Cheng AC, et al. Pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a review. JAMA. 2020;324:782-793.