ReviewJournal of infection and public health2022
N-acetylcysteine for prevention and treatment of COVID-19: Current state of evidence and future directions.
Review in Journal of infection and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on mortality in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of combined nebulization of unfractionated heparin, acetylcysteine, budesonide and ipratropium bromide in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of Glutathione Supplementation in Patients with HIV Infection and HIV-Tuberculosis Co-Infection.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Special Issue "New Perspective in the Molecular Pathways Involved in Acute and Chronic Lung Injury".International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- N-Acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury: Perspectives and Limitations.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- N-Acetylcysteine Inhibits Coxsackievirus B3 Replication by Downregulating Eukaryotic Translation Elongation Factor 1 Alpha 1.Viruses · 2024Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of N-Acetylcysteine in RSV Infections and Air Pollution-Induced Alterations: A Scoping Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Wine- and stir-frying processing of Cuscutae Semen enhance its ability to alleviate oxidative stress and apoptosis via the Keap 1-Nrf2/HO-1 and PI3K/AKT pathways in HBMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Clinical efficacy of N-acetylcysteine for COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Role of Biomarkers Diagnostic Tools in Patients with COVID-19: Stratification Made Easy.International journal of general medicine · 2024Article
- Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on initial Carious Enamel Lesions in primary teeth: an In-vitro study.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 may be in doubt but in uncertainty.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2023Article
- N-acetylcysteine reduces severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of advanced veterinary and animal research · 2023Article
- N-Acetyl Cysteine Restores the Diminished Activity of the Antioxidant Enzymatic System Caused by SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Preliminary Findings.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and can be associated with serious complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome. This condition is accompanied by a massive release of cytokines, also denominated cytokine storm, development of systemic oxidative stress and a prothrombotic state. In this context, it has been proposed a role for acetylcysteine (NAC) in the management of patients with COVID-19. NAC is a molecule classically known for its mucolytic effect, but it also has direct and indirect antioxidant activity as a precursor of reduced glutathione. Other effects of NAC have also been described, such as modulating the immune and inflammatory response, counteracting the thrombotic state, and having an antiviral effect. The pharmacological activities of NAC and its effects on the mechanisms of disease progression make it a potential therapeutic agent for COVID-19. NAC is safe, tolerable, affordable, and easily available. Moreover, the antioxidant effects of the molecule may even prevent infection and play an important role as a complement to vaccination. Although the clinical efficacy and dosing regimens of NAC have been evaluated in the clinical setting with small series of patients, the results are promising. In this article, we review the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the current knowledge of the mechanisms of action of NAC across disease stages. We also propose NAC posology strategies to manage COVID-19 patients in different clinical scenarios.
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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.