Lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol have been previously used to treat acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in clinical practice; nevertheless, their effectiveness remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral effects and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol in patients with the 2019-nCoV disease . Fifty patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were divided into two groups: including lopinavir/ritonavir group (34 cases) and arbidol group (16 cases). Lopinavir/ritonavir group received 400 mg/100mg of Lopinavir/ritonavir, twice a day for a week, while the arbidol group was given 0.2 g arbidol, three times a day. Data from these patients were retrospectively analyzed. The cycle threshold values of open reading frame 1ab and nucleocapsid genes by RT-PCR assay were monitored during antiviral therapy. None of the patients developed severe pneumonia or ARDS. There was no difference in fever duration between the two groups ( P = 0.61). On day 14 after the admission, no viral load was detected in arbidol group, but the viral load was found in 15(44.1%) patients treated with lopinavir/ritonavir. Patients in the arbidol group had a shorter duration of positive RNA test compared to those in the lopinavir/ritonavir group ( P < 0.01). Moreover, no apparent side effects were found in both groups. In conclusion, our data indicate that arbidol monotherapy may be superior to lopinavir/ritonavir in treating COVID-19.

Background: The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency of global concern. Updated analysis of cases might help identify the risk factors of illness severity. Results: The median age was 63 years, and 44.9% were severe cases. Severe patients had higher APACHE II (8.5 vs. 4.0) and SOFA (2 vs. 1) scores on admission. Among all univariable parameters, lymphocytes, CRP, and LDH were significantly independent risk factors of COVID-19 severity. LDH was positively related both with APACHE II and SOFA scores, as well as P/F ratio and CT scores. LDH (AUC = 0.878) also had a maximum specificity (96.9%), with the cutoff value of 344.5. In addition, LDH was positively correlated with CRP, AST, BNP and cTnI, while negatively correlated with lymphocytes and its subsets. Conclusions: This study showed that LDH could be identified as a powerful predictive factor for early recognition of lung injury and severe COVID-19 cases. Methods: We extracted data regarding 107 patients with confirmed COVID-19 from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. The degree of severity of COVID-19 patients (severe vs. non-severe) was defined at the time of admission according to American Thoracic Society guidelines for community acquired pneumonia.

The manuscript contains 2 tables and 1 figure.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Highlights 1. Characteristics of COVID-19 in imported and non-imported patients were analyzed.2. Fever was the most common symptom at the onset of illness.3. Half of patients had a low-grade temperature with a duration of fever <7 days.4. Viral load was undetectable for all patients on day 14 in the tertiary group.5. Virus was detectable on day 14 for 1/3rd of the imported and secondary patients. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Abstract Objectives: To compare the clinical characteristics and the dynamics of viral load between the imported and non-imported patients with COVID-19. Design and methods: Data from 51 laboratory-confirmed patients were retrospectively analyzed.