Where are we with the use of N-acetylcysteine as a preventive and adjuvant treatment for COVID-19?

OBJECTIVE: As N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is promising as a re-purposed drug for the adjunctive or supportive treatment of serious COVID-19, this article aimed to describe current evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search was performed in PubMed/Medline for "NAC", "viral Infection", COVID-19", oxidative stress", "inflammation", retrieving preclinical and clinical studies. RESULTS: NAC is a pleiotropic molecule with a dual antioxidant mechanism; it may neutralize free radicals and acts as a donor of cysteine, restoring the physiological pool of GSH. Serious COVID-19 patients have increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals and often present with glutathione depletion, which prompts a cytokine storm. NAC, which acts as a precursor of GSH inside cells, has been currently used in many conditions to restore or protect against GSH depletion and has a wide safety margin. In addition, NAC has anti-inflammatory activity independently of its antioxidant activity. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and experimental data suggest that NAC may act on the mechanisms leading to the prothrombotic state observed in severe COVID-19.

The role of cefditoren in the treatment of lower community-acquired respiratory tract infections (LRTIs): from bacterial eradication to reduced lung inflammation and epithelial damage.

OBJECTIVES: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), including pneumonia and acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), are among the most common diagnoses in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Due to the burden of LRTIs healthcare providers must adopt practices focused on improving outcomes with the aim to reduce treatment failure and antibiotic resistances. Moreover, the role of acute and chronic infection in the pathogenesis of COPD has received considerable attention, since chronic infection can contribute to airways inflammation and COPD progression. This review discusses the role of cefditoren for the treatment of LRTIs, compared with the definition of "appropriate" of the WHO as "the cost-effective use of antimicrobials which maximizes clinical therapeutic effect while minimizing both drug-related toxicity and the development of antimicrobial resistance". RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Cefditoren appears to meet the definition of "appropriate" for the treatment of LRTIs. In fact, this molecule shows an adequate pharmacokinetic profile without the need for any adjustment also in aged patients with mild renal impairment or mild-to-moderate hepatic dysfunction. The low drug-drug interaction potential of cefditoren can be an advantage also in poly-treated patients. The antimicrobial spectrum of cefditoren includes both Gram+ and Gram- bacteria, with high activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae, including drug-resistant strains, Haemophilus infuenzae and Moraxella chatarrhalis. Last, recent findings suggested that cefditoren can be a valid alternative to levofloxacin in outpatients with acute exacerbation of COPD; in this setting a treatment with cefditoren showed to be associated with a significant reduction of some key inflammatory markers involved in epithelial damage, including KL-6 and IL-6.