ReviewEnvironmental microbiology2021
Host-modifying drugs against COVID-19: some successes, but not yet the breakthrough.
Review in Environmental microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
- Repurposing of colchicine: critical examination of clinical trials and scoping review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Clinical and diagnostic features of long-COVID patients presenting with neurologic symptoms in Chicago.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
After reviewing antiviral drugs (Brüssow Environmental Microbiology 2021) the present review summarizes the results of clinical trials with host-modifying drugs in COVID-19 patients. Clinical benefits were observed with different immunomodulators. The variable outcomes of trials with the interleukin 6 receptor inhibitor tocilizumab demonstrated that treatment benefits might only be present in specific subgroups of patients or in specific infection stages. A meta-analysis of trials with the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist anakinra showed a survival benefit only in patients with hyperinflammation. The Janus kinase inhibitor baricitinib is an anti-inflammatory treatment that showed a clinical benefit in hospitalized patients who do not yet need supplementary oxygen. In contrast, the corticosteroid dexamethasone showed mortality reducing effects that were limited to patients on ventilation or in need of supplementary oxygen. Therapeutic dose of anticoagulation met the criteria for inferiority in severe cases, but showed a small survival benefit in non-severe COVID-19 patients. Large trials with colchicine showed a small or no survival benefit. Azithromycin, an antibiotic with immunomodulatory activity, showed no effects in numerous clinical trials. The trials showed a clear need for new drugs instead of repurposed drugs and drugs that specifically target the SARS-CoV-2 virus or the pathology developing in COVID-19 patients.
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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.