Davoud Ahmadimoghaddam
1 
, Zohreh Izadidastenaei
2* 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
2 Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
*Corresponding Author: *Corresponding author: Zohreh Izadidastenaei, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel: 0098-2188202508, Email: , Email:
zohreizadi@sbmu.ac.ir
Abstract
In this minireview, we evaluated the studies that underlie the usage and suggestion of antivirals for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Until now, there has been no known curative treatment for COVID-19. However, many clinical trials have used antiviral medicines including remdesivir, lopinavir (LPV), ritonavir (RTV), ribavirin, favipiravir (FPV), oseltamivir, umifenovir, and nitazoxanide. Using remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19 has improved respiratory symptoms, making the remdesivir one of the specific drugs suggested for the treatment of severe COVID-19. It has been shown that triple antiviral therapy (LPV, RTV, and ribavirin) can improve symptoms and consequently shorten the duration of viral shedding and hospital stay. However, the results of treatment with oseltamivir, umifenovir, and a combination of LPV and RTV were not different from the results of treatment with standard care in the time to clinical improvement. FPV showed better therapeutic responses to COVID-19 in terms of disease progression and viral clearance. Future clinical studies should evaluate the effect of antiviral agents for the treatment of COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, it is suggested that highly active antiviral drugs should be used in combination with other therapeutic approaches for the treatment of COVID-19.