Compounding for the Treatment of COVID-19 and Long COVID, Part 1: Terminology, Mutations, and Variants.

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), which is caused by the positive-stranded ribonucleic acid virus SARS-CoV-2 (acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), is an extremely contagious airborne illness of pandemic proportions. In the modern era, few diseases other than COVID-19 have produced such severe, prolific, and protean short-term adverse effects and long-term sequelae. In addition, few other pandemics have exhibited a trajectory of morbidity and mortality so affected by social, economic, and political factors as well as individual personal perceptions and beliefs. Vaccines for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and treatments for COVID-19 mitigate associated morbidity and mortality, but an increasing array of variants presents challenges to therapeutic effectiveness. As a result, afflicted patients often require customized treatments that address the severity of their infection, the manifestations of disease they exhibit, and their individual pharmacogenomic profile. In such cases, a compounded preparation may offer needed support for recovery. This article, which is the first in a series on compounding for COVID-19 and long COVID (i.e., the long- term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection), provides information about pertinent viral terminology and a brief overview of SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variants of note. Two formulations for customized compounds that may prove effective in treating the acute and/or long-term effects of COVID-19 when commercial therapies have failed are also provided.