Interim Management of COVID-19 by Repurposed Homeopathic Medicines.

Abstract

Recent publications focus on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has gravely impacted the entire world. It is an enveloped RNA virus arising from the genus betacoronavirus.[1] Owing to the lack of any previous treatment modalities available for COVID-19, clinical and health care experts have resorted to the use of drugs known to be effective against other viral fevers. This emergence of drug repurposing has arisen for several reasons, which can be attributed to the slow pace of new drug discovery along with high-cost involvement.[2] [3] Examples of such repurposed drugs include hydroxychloroquine, arbidol, remdesivir, favipiravir, lopinavir, and ritonavir, and these have now been selected for further testing as potential treatment candidates.[4] However, clinical trials on repurposed drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 have not been entirely successful, though they are being used in several countries despite having moderate to severe adverse effects.[5] [6] A critical flaw in such trials is their study design, which is compromised by the fact that these are not double-blind studies and also have a low sample size; however, the scientific rationale given for conducting such trials is to balance scientific rigor against speed.[7]