SARS-CoV-2: a review for clinicals

Resumo

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic raises greater knowledge about the disease. 

OBJECTIVE:  to elucidate this new disease that affects all continents of the planet.

DESIGN AND SETTING: A narrative review of clinical aspects of COVID-19.

METHODS: A review was carried out with the studies with the greatest clinical evidence from the Pubmed database by researching the descriptors "COVID-19", "coronavirus" OR "SARS-CoV-2" AND "[topic]".

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Epidemiology: The infection reached the mark of 11,000,000 patients, 530,000 deaths and raised the presence of comorbidities and advanced age as risk factors.  Transmissibility: The calculated transmissibility is similar to the H1N1 epidemic, however with a lower mortality rate. Physiopathology: The SARS-CoV-2 virus, a beta-coronavirus, is capable of cell invasion through the fusion of glycoprotein S with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 present in the lower respiratory epithelium and cells of the lower respiratory epithelium mucosa of the digestive tract. Clinical Manifestations: the presentation can be divided into mild (fever, fatigue, cough, myalgia and sputum) and severe (cyanosis, dyspnoea, tachypnea, chest pain, hypoxemia, respiratory failure) and has an estimated mortality of just over 4%. It can generate thrombotic events and neurological and autoimmune syndromes.  Diagnosis: It occurs through the detection of viral load in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (CRP-TR). Treatment: Based on supportive and infection control measures. In severe cases, the use of medications such as remdesevir 200 mg intravenously in a single dose on day 1, followed by 100 mg in single daily doses from D2 to D5 and dexamethasone 6 mg orally in every 24 hours can be promising.

CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic is a potentially serious disease and still has no specific treatment.