Treatment guidelines for COVID-19 infected patients.

BACKGROUND: New information for potential treatments against SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly increasing. As a result, countries and organizations have begun to release therapeutic guidelines. OBJECTIVE: To provide a synopsis of the recommendations supported in evidence-based guidelines for therapeutic options with potential activity against SARS-CoV-2. METHOD: Rapid systematic review of guidelines and/or protocols that provide interim clinical guidance for COVID-19 disease were extracted from PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Scielo, Google Scholar, and a general Google search. Duplicates were removed and a summary of the proposed interventions was included. A benefit risk analysis was then conducted. RESULTS: Twenty guidelines and/or protocols were selected; the majority of which came from Europe and Latin America. Seventeen interventions were identified and classified into 6 pharmacological groups. Antimalarials, lopinavir/ritonavir and remdesivir were the only agents recommended and supported by clinical trials. The remaining interventions were recommended based on indirect evidence, observational studies, or in vitro studies. CONCLUSIONS: Antimalarials have shown results against COVID-19 with surrogate outcomes and the presence of serious adverse events. We recommend active monitoring of agents with potential efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and incorporating the results in national guidelines and protocols. Clinical trials should be conducted to show direct benefit with clinically relevant outcomes in various populations.