The Possibility of Ribavirinas in the Treatment of the Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Systematic Review

Objective To systematically evaluate the possibility of ribavirin in treatment of novel coronaviral pneumonia. Method of retrieving PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Chinese Journal Full Text Database (CNKI), Wanfang Database (WangFang DATA), Chinese Biomedical Documentation Database (CBM), etc. Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), while retroactively incorporating the references of the literature. Applying the rapid systematic evaluation method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and evaluating the quality of the literature to evaluate the likelihood of ribavirin for treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in 2019. A total of 437 articles were retrieved and eventually incorporated into During the 18 studies .SARS outbreak, China's mainland, Hong Kong and Canada have experience applying high-dose ribavirin combined with interferon, hormones, lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) treatment. Adverse reactions of high-dose ribavirin include anemia, bradycardia, myalgia, hypoxemia, electrolyte disorders, etc., these adverse reactions may lead to discontinuation of medication or adverse outcomes. Conclusion Ribavirin can be used in COVID-19 based on combined application of interferon, hormone, LPV/r and close monitoring of related adverse reactions, but its clinical effectiveness has yet to be confirmed by more randomized controlled trials.