Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, prostaglandins and COVID‐19

Robb, Calum T.; Goepp, Marie; Rossi, Adriano G.; Yao, Chengcan

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is the cause of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), a highly pathogenic and sometimes fatal respiratory disease responsible for the current 2020 global pandemic. Presently, there remains no effective vaccine nor efficient treatment strategies against COVID‐19. Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are medicines very widely used to alleviate fever, pain and inflammation (common symptoms of COVID‐19 patients) through effectively blocking production of prostaglandins (PGs) via inhibition of cyclooxygenase enzymes. PGs can exert either pro‐ or anti‐inflammatory effects depending on the inflammatory scenario. In this review, we implicate the potential roles that NSAIDs and PGs may play during SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and the development and progression of COVID‐19.