Diagnosis and Critique of Drugs Used in Treating Coronavirus Disease in 2019 in Nigeria: A Review

Drugs used in treating patients who contracted the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) include chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (CQ, HCQ), antiviral, steroid, and antibiotic. Treatment outcomes were characterized by positive and adverse reactions as therapeutic options were based on clinical trials coupled with diagnostic constraints. This study assesses the diagnostic processes and critically examines the drugs used in the clinical settings to treat COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The search was conducted on various databases with a focus on diagnoses and drugs used to treat COVID-19. Articles that did not meet selection criteria were excluded and the data collected from sampled articles were collated, analyzed, and evaluated. 

The finding showed a lack of sufficient evidence-based data to support the use of CQ/HCQ, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, and antibiotics, such as azithromycin as treatment options for COVID-19, even though patients responded partly to the drugs probably due to their action mechanisms. 

There is a lack of evidence-based scientific data to guide the definitive treatment of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. Drugs used in the emergency were based on clinical trials. The efficacy of the drugs depends partly on the innate capability of the immune system of an affected individual.