SynthesisTravel medicine and infectious disease
A Systematic Review of therapeutic agents for the treatment of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Synthesis in Travel medicine and infectious disease. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04420260 (Scheme of Primary Prevention of Infection by COVID-19, in Workers), which is not on this map. Cited by 74 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Scheme of Primary Prevention of Infection by COVID-19, in Workers: Phase II Controlled Clinical Trial, to be Carried Out in Medellín-Antioquia
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review ofTheranostics · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of antiviral treatment for COVID-19 from evidence in studies of SARS-CoV-2 and other acute viral infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2020Pooled it
- AGA Institute Rapid Review of the Gastrointestinal and Liver Manifestations of COVID-19, Meta-Analysis of International Data, and Recommendations for the Consultative Management of Patients with COVID-19.Gastroenterology · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of current therapeutic options for COVID-19 - lessons to be learnt from SARS and MERS epidemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Pharmacological research · 2020Pooled it
- Pharmacologic Treatments and Supportive Care for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.Emerging infectious diseases · 2020Pooled it
- Systematic review of the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral drugs against SARS, MERS or COVID-19: initial assessment.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2020Pooled it
- MERS-COV in the Middle East, a one health concept approach.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Harnessing the power of IFN for therapeutic approaches to COVID-19.Journal of virology · 2024Review
- AnHeliyon · 2024Article
- Antiviral activity of the host defense peptide piscidin 1: investigating a membrane-mediated mode of action.Frontiers in chemistry · 2024Article
- Pollution free UV-C radiation to mitigate COVID-19 transmission.Gondwana research : international geoscience journal · 2023Article
- Inhibitors of HIV-1 and Cathepsin L Proteases Identified from the Insect Gall ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Camel viral diseases: Current diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive strategies.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Review
- Repositioning HIV protease inhibitors and nucleos(t)ide RNA polymerase inhibitors for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2021Review
- Theory and reality of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Review
- Human Coronaviruses: Counteracting the Damage by Storm.Viruses · 2021Review
- Evaluating the potential of different inhibitors on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2: A molecular modeling approach.Medical journal, Armed Forces India · 2021Article
- Novel corona virus (COVID-19); Global efforts and effective investigational medicines: A review.Journal of infection and public health · 2021Review
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Virus-Pathophysiological Axis and the Current Treatment Strategies.AAPS PharmSciTech · 2021Review
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first described in 2012 and attracted a great international attention due to multiple healthcare associated outbreaks. The disease carries a high case fatality rate of 34.5%, and there is no internationally or nationally recommended therapy.
methodWe searched MEDLINE, Science Direct, Embase and Scopus databases for relevant papers published till March 2019 describing in vitro, in vivo or human therapy of MERS.
resultsInitial search identified 62 articles: 52 articles were from Medline, 6 from Embase, and 4 from Science Direct. Based on the inclusions and exclusions criteria, 30 articles were included in the final review and comprised: 22 in vitro studies, 8 studies utilizing animal models, 13 studies in humans, and one study included both in vitro and animal model. There are a few promising therapeutic agents on the horizon. The combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon-beta- 1b showed excellent results in common marmosets and currently is in a randomized control trial. Ribavirin and interferon were the most widely used combination and experience comes from a number of observational studies. Although, the data are heterogenous, this combination might be of potential benefit and deserve further investigation. There were no randomized clinical trials to recommend specific therapy for the treatment of MERS-CoV infection. Only one such study is planned for randomization and is pending completion. The study is based on a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon-beta- 1b. A fully human polyclonal IgG antibody (SAB-301) was safe and well tolerated in healthy individuals and this agent may deserve further testing for efficacy.
conclusionDespite multiple studies in humans there is no consensus on the optimal therapy for MERS-CoV. Randomized clinical trials are needed and potential therapies should be evaluated only in such clinical trials. In order to further enhance the therapeutic aroma for MERS-CoV infection, repurposing old drugs against MERS-CoV is an interesting strategy and deserves further consideration and use in clinical settings.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.