The Pharmacogenomics Behind the Investigational Treatments of COVID-19 and its High-Risk Underlying Conditions

As of May 4, 2020, 1,152,372 total COVID-19 cases and 67,456 total deaths have been reported in the United States (U.S.). Fifty-five U.S. jurisdictions have reported cases including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to the CDC, older adults and people of any age who have severe underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and any disease that causes the patient to be immunocompromised might be at higher risk for contracting and experiencing severe illness from COVID-19. Most patients with significant underlying chronic medical conditions take medications to mitigate their disease. Also, some patients take medicines that can induce immunosuppression and increase their chances of contracting COVID-19. Pharmacogenomics directed medication therapy management before infection with COVID-19 has the potential to reduce the chances of patients with chronic disease contracting COVID-19 and, it increases their chances for survival from COVID-19 should they become infected. COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that, once contracted, manifests itself through a wide range of symptoms. The symptoms range anywhere between no signs of COVID-19 at all to death from COVID-19 induced pathophysiology. Many medications are currently proposed for treating COVID-19, and many drugs are now being used to treat COVID-19's sequelae, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and coagulopathy. Pharmacogenomics directed medication management also has the potential to improve the efficacy of and decrease the toxicity of some medications used to treat COVID-19 and its most common sequelae.

 

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