Use of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19: a review

• Autor(a) principal: Zanoti, Eduardo Bertollini
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Porto, Rodrigo Magalhães, Scriboni, Andreia Borges
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: MedNEXT Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
• Texto Completo: https://mednext.zotarellifilhoscientificworks.com/index.php/mednext/article/view/130
• topic: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Ivermectin; Treatment; Prevention

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 produces a respiratory syndrome that can range from a mild, self-limiting inflammatory condition to severe, progressive pneumonia. Prevention and treatment strategies have become a priority since the emergence of COVID-19. Noteworthy is the use of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic agent, which has been widely recommended by some health professionals for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Objective: To assess the evidence on the efficacy and safety of using ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, identifying its mode of action and the benefits and adverse reactions of using this drug. Methods: The search strategy for articles was based on a search in the electronic databases MEDLINE (NationalLibrary of Medicine, United States), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences), Scielo, specialized libraries of Universities, PubMed, and Google Academic. The selected articles will be from 2015 to 2021. Results and Conclusion: Studies reveal that ivermectin is a broad-spectrum drug with high-fat solubility and has numerous effects on several parasites. In addition to having antiviral and antiparasitic effects, this drug also causes immunomodulation in the host. Ivermectin has already demonstrated its potent antiviral effects in vitro against several RNA viruses, such as influenza A, Zika virus, Newcastle disease virus, yellow fever virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue virus, among others. One way to delay viral transmission would be to stop the virus from replicating, thus reducing the viral load in infected individuals. Thus, studies have shown that ivermectin may have the potential for inhibiting and replicating SARS-CoV-2.