Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and COVID-19: A Literature Review

Abstract

Musaddique Hussain,1 Shahzada Khurram Syed,2 Mobeen Fatima,1 Saira Shaukat,1 Malik Saadullah,3 Ali M Alqahtani,4 Taha Alqahtani,4 Talha Bin Emran,5 Ali H Alamri,6 Muhammad Qasim Barkat,7 Ximei Wu7 1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan; 2Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Management and Technology Lahore, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan; 3Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan; 4Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, 62529, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong, 4381, Bangladesh; 6Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, 62529, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou City, 310000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Musaddique HussainDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, PakistanEmail [email protected] WuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou City, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an overwhelming inflammatory disorder of the lung due to direct and indirect insults to the lungs. ARDS is characterized by increased vascular permeability, protein-rich edema, diffuse alveolar infiltrate, and loss of aerated lung tissue, leading to decreased lung compliance, tachypnea, and severe hypoxemia. COVID-19 is generally associated with ARDS, and it has gained prime importance since it started. The mortality rate is alarmingly high in COVID-19-related ARDS patients regardless of advances in mechanical ventilation. Several pharmacological agents, including corticosteroids, nitric oxide, neuromuscular blocker, anti-TNF, statins, and exogenous surfactant, have been studied and some are under investigation, like ketoconazole, lisofylline, N-acetylcysteine, prostaglandins, prostacyclin, and fish oil. The purpose of this review is to appraise the understanding of the pathophysiology of ARDS, biomarkers, and clinical trials of pharmacological therapies of ARDS and COVID-19-related ARDS.Keywords: acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute lung injury, COVID-19, COVID-19-related ARDS

Keywords

• acute respiratory distress syndrome
• acute lung injury
• covid-19;covid-19-related ards