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Volume 26, Number 6—June 2020
Synopsis

Pharmacologic Treatments and Supportive Care for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

Taylor Kain, Patrick J. Lindsay, Neill K.J. Adhikari, Yaseen M. Arabi, Maria D. Van Kerkhove, and Robert A. FowlerComments to Author 
Author affiliations: University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (T. Kain, P.J. Lindsay, N.K.J. Adhikari, R.A. Fowler); Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (P.J. Lindsay); Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, Toronto (N.K.J. Adhikari, R.A. Fowler); King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Y.M. Arabi); King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh (Y.M. Arabi); World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (M.D. Van Kerkhove)

Main Article

Table 1

Demographic information and main intervention (where applicable) for studies included in a systematic review of evidence for MERS treatment with pharmacologic and supportive therapies, by type of study*

Reference Location (no. centers) Study period No. patients Intervention group Comparator group Primary outcome
Nonrandomized, single-arm intervention study with historical comparisons
(12) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (1) April–June 2014 32 IFN-β1a (May–Jun); 11 patients IFN-α2a (Apr); 13 patients Mortality rate (unspecified)
(13) Saudi Arabia (5) Sept 2012–Dec 2015 35 ECMO; 17 patients No ECMO
18 patients 90-d mortality rate
(14) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) Oct 2012–May 2014 70 (44 included) RBV/IFN-α2a; 20 patients Supportive care
24 patients 14-d and 28-d mortality rate
Prospective cohort study
(15) Seoul, South Korea (3) May–July 2015 30 NA NA NA
(16)
 Jedda, Saudi Arabia (1)
 Mar–Jun 2014
 8
 NA
 NA
 NA
Retrospective cohort study
(17) Saudi Arabia (14) Sept 2012–Oct 2015 309 Steroids; 151 patients No steroids
157 patients 90-d all-cause mortality rate
(18) Saudi Arabia (14) Sept 2012–Oct 2015 330 MERS MERS Non-MERS SARI 90-d mortality rate
(19) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) Oct 2012–May 2014 70 (31 included) NA NA NA
(20) Al-Madinah City, Saudi Arabia (2) Mar–May 2014 29 NA NA NA
(21) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (1) April–May 2014 14 NA NA Survival at 1 y
(22) Jedda, Saudi Arabia (1) Jan–Dec 2014 51 NA NA NA
(23) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) April 2014–Mar 2018 314 NA NA Mortality rate (unspecified)
(24) Saudi Arabia (14) Sept 2012–Jan 2018 349 Macrolides No macrolides 90-d mortality rate
(25) Saudi Arabia (14) Sept 2012–Oct 2015 302 NIV Invasive ventilation 90-d mortality rate
(26) Saudi Arabia (14)
 Sept 2012–Jan 2018
 349
 RBVIFN
 No RBV/IFN
 90-d mortality rate
Case series without evaluation of treatments
(27) Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia (1) April–May 2013 5 NA NA NA
(28) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) Dec 2012–Aug 2013 11 NA NA NA
(29) Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia (1) April 2012–Nov 2016 107 NA NA NA
(30) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) Before Oct 2014 6 NA NA NA
(31) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1) July–Oct 2015 63 (8 included) NA NA NA

*ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; IFN, interferon; MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome; NA, not applicable; NIV, noninvasive ventilation; NS, nonsurvivors; RBV, ribavirin; SARI, severe acute respiratory infection.

Main Article

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