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Review
. 2020 Aug;23(4):190-195.
doi: 10.1016/j.cjtee.2020.06.002. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

The severe COVID-19: A sepsis induced by viral infection? And its immunomodulatory therapy

Hong-Yuan Lin  1
Affiliations
Review

The severe COVID-19: A sepsis induced by viral infection? And its immunomodulatory therapy

Hong-Yuan Lin. Chin J Traumatol. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

COVID-19 is known for its magical infectivity, fast transmission and high death toll based on the large number of infected people. From the perspective of the clinical manifestation, autopsy examination and pathophysiology, the essence of COVID-19 should be viewed as a sepsis induced by viral infection, and has the essential characteristics as sepsis induced by other pathogens. Therefore, in addition to etiological and supportive treatment, immunomodulatory therapy is also appropriate to severe COVID-19. Although there is still a lack of consensus on immunotherapy for sepsis so far, relatively rich experiences have been accumulated in the past decades, which will help us in the treatment of severe COVID-19. This article will elaborate immunotherapy of sepsis, though it may not be consistent.

Keywords: COVID-19; Immunomodulatory therapy; Immunotherapy; Sepsis; Thymosin a1; Ulinastatin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

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