Ritonavir/Lopinavir

Coronavirus Disease has already spread in many countries. There are currently no specific treatments for COVID-19. However, it is possible that some existing drugs that is usually used for other conditions may have some benefits.
Ritonavir-Lopinavir is one of the prescriptions used in some studies to find cure for Coronavirus Disease. The initial trial investigated whether anti-viral drugs used to treat HIV would relieve the symptoms of COVID-19. The trial saw 199 COVID-19 patients at Jin Yin-Tan Hospital treated either using standard of care or being given Ritonavir-Lopinavir. The results were published recently and showed enough promise that a larger trials of the Ritonavir-Lopinavir treatment have now been established. Specifically, the trial showed that patients who were randomly chosen to receive Ritonavir-Lopinavir appeared to improve faster. Meanwhile, among those patients who actually received Ritonavir-Lopinavir, the time to clinical improvement was significantly shorter than in patients receiving standard of care alone. At the same time acceptable safety levels were observed.
The Coronavirus Disease is introduced to the world in December 2019, there have been no medications approved or proven effective for the treatment of this pandemic. Lopinavir is an HIV protease inhibitor that is combined with Ritonavir to increase its half-life.  This combined medication has also been studied in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). This showed a promising results. This makes it a research target for COVID-19. 
Many of us are awaiting a treatment that works against the disease and badly need a treatment that is effective and safe. It has been evaluated the efficacy and safety of Ritonavir-Lopinavir for COVID-19 infection in adult patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.

Where is this medication primarily used?
This medication is intended to use for the treatment of HIV. Ritonavir-Lopinavir is an HIV protease inhibitor. This helps lessen the amount of HIV in your body and improves your quality of life.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that can lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS if not treated. HIV attacks the immune system of the body mainly the CD4 cells (T cells). T cells help the immune system fight off infections. Untreated, HIV decreases the number of T cells in the body. Wherein, it makes the person more likely to get other infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease. These opportunistic infections take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS. AIDS is the last stage of HIV infection. There are several symptoms of HIV. Not everyone will have the same symptoms. It depends on the person and what stage of the disease they are in.
Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, some may have a flu-like illness. This is the body’s natural response to HIV infection. If you have HIV and you are not on HIV treatment, eventually the virus will weaken your body’s immune system and you will progress to AIDS. The symptoms are:
⦁ Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
⦁ Rapid weight loss
⦁ Extreme and unexplained tiredness
⦁ Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
⦁ Prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
⦁ Sores of the genitals, anus, or mouth
⦁ Pneumonia
⦁ Pink, brown, red, or purplish blotches under the skin or inside the eyelids, nose, or mouth
⦁ Memory loss
⦁ Depression