ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2021
Thalidomide combined with short-term low-dose glucocorticoid therapy for the treatment of severe COVID-19: A case-series study.
Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19: A novel holistic systems biology approach to predict its molecular mechanisms (in vitro) and repurpose drugs.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2023Article
- Thalidomide for the Treatment of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Advanced biomedical research · 2023Article
- Review
- Anti-emetic effects of thalidomide: Evidence, mechanism of action, and future directions.Current research in pharmacology and drug discovery · 2022Review
- Repurposing Thalidomide, its Analogue and Apremilast for Possible Antiviral in Situation of Severe COVID Cytokine Syndrome.Infectious disorders drug targets · 2022Article
- Occurrence and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) against COVID-19 in lakes and WWTP-river-estuary system in Wuhan, China.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Immunomodulatory effects of thalidomide in an experimental brain death liver donor model.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Thalidomide-Then and Now: Case Report of a Woman With Thalidomide Embryopathy and Review of Current Thalidomide Uses.Cureus · 2021Article
- Vigilance in selection of low-dose versus high-dose steroids in COVID-19.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021Article
- Anti-Inflammation, Immunomodulation and Therapeutic Repair in Current Clinical Trials for the Management of COVID-19.Drug design, development and therapy · 2021Review
- Immune Signature Linked to COVID-19 Severity: A SARS-Score for Personalized Medicine.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
- Cytokine Storm: The Primary Determinant for the Pathophysiological Evolution of COVID-19 Deterioration.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide, an immunomodulatory agent, in combination with glucocorticoid, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with life-threatening symptoms.
methodsA nonrandomized comparative case series study was performed. Six patients received thalidomide 100 mg per day (with therapy lasting for ≥7 days) plus low-dose short-term dexamethasone, and 6 control patients matched with patients in the thalidomide group, received low-dose short-term treatment with dexamethasone alone. The main outcomes were: the duration of SARS-CoV-2 negative conversion from admission; length of hospital stay; and changes in inflammatory cytokine concentrations and lymphocyte subsets.
resultsThe median thalidomide treatment time was 12.0 days. The median duration of SARS-CoV-2 negative conversion from admission and hospital stay length were briefer in the thalidomide group compared to the control group (respectively, 11.0 vs 23.0 days, P = 0.043; 18.5 vs 30.0 days, P = 0.043). The mean reduction rates at 7-10 days after treatment for serum interleukin-6 and interferon-γ concentrations were greater in the thalidomide group compared to the control group. Alterations in lymphocyte numbers in the subsets between the 2 groups were similar.
conclusionsThalidomide plus short-term glucocorticoid therapy is an effective and safe regimen for the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients. The mechanism of action is most likely inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production.
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