Pharmacol Rep
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The benefits of corticosteroids for the treatment of COVID-19 infection are documented in the literature. The goal of the study is to compare the severity of rhinological symptoms of COVID-19 between patients with nasal steroid use (NSU) and the control group (CG) using the sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-22) questionnaire. ⋯ Although nasal steroid use does not prevent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients, it may reduce the severity and duration of these symptoms.
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The idea of treating COVID-19 with statins is biologically plausible, although it is still controversial. The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to address the association between the use of statins and risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ This meta-analysis showed that in-hospital use of statins was associated with a reduced risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19.
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Currently, there are no treatment options available for the deadly contagious disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Drug repurposing is a process of identifying new uses for approved or investigational drugs and it is considered as a very effective strategy for drug discovery as it involves less time and cost to find a therapeutic agent in comparison to the de novo drug discovery process. The present review will focus on the repurposing efficacy of the currently used drugs against COVID-19 and their mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, dosing, safety, and their future perspective. ⋯ These drugs either act through virus-related targets such as RNA genome, polypeptide packing and uptake pathways or target host-related pathways involving angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptors and inflammatory pathways. Using the basic knowledge of viral pathogenesis and pharmacodynamics of drugs as well as using computational tools, many drugs are currently in pipeline to be repurposed. In the current scenario, repositioning of the drugs could be considered the new avenue for the treatment of COVID-19.
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The primary objective of this study was to develop a population pharmacokinetic model of meropenem, based on the population of critically ill adult patients undergoing CRRT. The secondary one was to examine the relationship between patient characteristics (covariates) and individual PK parameters. Finally, we aimed to perform Monte Carlo simulations to assess the probability of target attainment (PTA) of %T > MIC considering the uncertainty of PK parameters. ⋯ The population PK model was successfully developed to describe the time course of meropenem concentrations. The hypoalbuminemia was found to be associated with higher PTA in the CRRT patients after multiple short-term infusions.
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Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is regarded as one of the most common dose-limiting adverse effects of several chemotherapeutic agents, such as platinum derivatives (oxaliplatin and cisplatin), taxanes, vinca alkaloids and bortezomib. CIPN affects more than 60% of patients receiving anticancer therapy and although it is a nonfatal condition, it significantly worsens patients' quality of life. The number of analgesic drugs used to relieve pain symptoms in CIPN is very limited and their efficacy in CIPN is significantly lower than that observed in other neuropathic pain types. Importantly, there are currently no recommended options for effective prevention of CIPN, and strong evidence for the utility and clinical efficacy of some previously tested preventive therapies is still limited. ⋯ Emerging novel chemical structures-potential future preventative pharmacotherapies for CIPN caused by oxaliplatin are reported.