Anti-HIV Drugs for COVID-19 | 18 Mar 2020

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued revised guidelines on the ‘Clinical Management of COVID-19’.

COVID-19 patients may present with mild, moderate, or severe illness and the early recognition of suspected patients allows for timely initiation of infection, prevention and control.
The Ministry has recommended use of drug combinations Lopinavir and Ritonavir (sold under the brand name Kaletra) depending upon the severity of the condition of a person having coronavirus infection, on a case-to-case basis.

Lopinavir-Ritonavir is recommended for high-risk groups of patients aged above 60 who are suffering from diabetes mellitus, renal failure, chronic lung disease and are immuno-compromised.
Lopinavir-Ritonavir is used widely for controlling Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.
- However, the use of Lopinavir-Ritonavir is also associated with significant adverse events which many times have led to discontinuation of therapy.
There is no current evidence from randomised controlled trials to recommend any specific treatment for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.
- No specific antivirals are recommended for treatment of those suffering from respiratory ailment due to lack of adequate evidence from medical literature.
The use of this drug combination is suggested by an expert committee comprising doctors from the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), experts from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO).