THE IMPACT OF INFLAMMATION AND DRUG INTERACTIONS ON COVID-19 PHARMACOTHERAPY. A MINI-REVIEW

The pandemic induced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, named COVID-19, produced in addition to the severity of the symptoms in some of the patients also a series of challenges regarding their treatment. The pathogenesis of the virus is mediated mainly by the structural proteins of the envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid, as well as by the spike glycoprotein that facilitates the entry into cells. It was pointed out, that there is a disorder caused by the inflammatory syndrome that influences the severity of COVID-19 and its unfavourable prognosis. The inflammatory process is responsible for the transient phenoconversion, characterized by the deviation between the function encoded in the genotype and the expression of the phenotype. Systemic inflammation and the immune response are an important element in many acute and chronic diseases, being strongly involved in changing the pharmacokinetics of the drug. Existing medical comorbidities in elderly patients requires multiple drug therapies, making them the most vulnerable group for both drug-drug interactions and disease-drug interactions. In the following, a series of data will be provided on the interactions that occur in the main classes of drugs used so far in COVID-19 therapy.