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Polyethylene glycol as a potential adjuvant treatment for COVID-19-induced ARDS
  • Mohamed Bejaoui
Mohamed Bejaoui
University of Monastir Faculty of Pharmacy of Monastir

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, represent an ongoing global health emergency. Common symptoms are mild including fever, cough, myalgia and difficulty breathing. In patients most severely affected, COVID-19 can be complicated by the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The management of ARDS mainly focuses on the provision of supportive care, e.g., oxygenation, ventilation, and fluid management. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a water soluble non-toxic polymer approved by FDA and widely used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutics. PEG has interesting properties that makes it suitable for use as an adjuvant treatment in COVID-19 patient with ARDS: (1) PEG could create a physical barrier that inhibits virus entry and invasion; (2) PEG reduces inactivation and enhances the surface activity of pulmonary surfactant; (3) PEG decrease cytokine release and (4) PEG preserve lung endothelial cells integrity.