What questions will USMLE and COMLEX ask you in your upcoming exams?

Why, among so many drugs in the market have only a handful gotten the world’s attention as potential remedies for COVID-19?

What are the reasons for selecting and mechanisms of actions of the proposed drugs for treating COVID-19?

Why hydroxychloroquine is used for treating COVID-19?

Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP)

Dr. E: It is not uncommon for researchers to race against time to identify new medications and to evaluate the efficacy of the commonly used co-morbidity drugs in decreasing morbidity and mortality of new diseases such as COVID-19. The impetus for this type of approach is in part supported by Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP), and in part by the assumption that the most common comorbidities of any ailment are by far the most common culprits for the patients’ prognosis. For this reason, from the onset of the current pandemic we have witnessed a worldwide outpouring of hypotheses and researches targeting established treatments of comorbidities and closely-related viral families as quick fixes for minimizing the mortality and severity of COVID-19.

There must be a rationale for targeting certain drugs:  There are four major criteria used by most scientists and pharmacologists for coming up with workable medications against COVID-19. These are: (1) drugs that act on viruses with close genetic makeup; (2) building on the experience of China in dealing SARS virus; (3) random use of current antivirals with the hope that one of them may work; and (4) trying drugs that are used to treat COVID’s comorbidities.

What would we like to do today? Today, I like us to focus our attention on hydroxychloroquine that is well-known as HCQ. This drug satisfies three of the rationales that I just cited. Beneatha, if you are ready, let’s begin with our first question! Do you know what conditions are commonly treated by hydroxychloroquine?

Beneatha:  I know that hydroxychloroquine has classically been used to treat malaria. I took a complete dose of it during the summer of my junior undergrad year that I had to travel to India. Last year, I heard that it is used for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Now, I am hearing that it is one of the suggested drugs for treating COVID-19 as well.