Abstract

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus also known as SARS-CoV-2 initially originated in Wuhan, China. On March 11, 2019 it was officially declared as a global pandemic by WHO. The viral transmission was associated with respiratory droplets and through other bodily secretions as well. The cellular entry of virus was associated with angiotensin converting enzymes 2 receptors (ACE-2 receptors). This study was conducted from December, 2020 to March, 2021. A total of 159 studies related to immune pathogenesis and therapeutic profile of COVID-19 were included. All studies involving pharmacological therapies for treating COVID-19 were included but the studies manifesting nutritional interventions and herbal medications for treatment of COVID-19 were excluded. Various data bases like Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and web of science were used as a search engine. Fever, cough, myalgia, headache and shortness of breath were common symptoms associated with COVID-19. The clinical spectrum of disease was ranging from asymptomatic carriers to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by exaggerated inflammatory response also known as cytokine storm (IL-6, IL-1, IL-8, IL-10), and hyperactivity of host immune system (innate, cellular and humoral immune system) leading to severe form of COVID-19. Various therapeutic options used to treat COVID-19 are corticosteroids, antimalarials (hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine), antivirals (Remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir), antibiotics (azithromycin), interleukin-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab), Plasma exchange, and finally the most effective and economical treatment is through vaccine which is now considered definitive treatment option. However, more studies are required to explore the most effective, safer and accessible treatment options to treat and prevent COVID-19.