Ann Clin Anesth Res | Volume 4, Issue 1 | Review Article | Open Access

COVID-19: Understanding the Physiopathology to Target the Therapy

Alain Borgeat1,4*, Barbara Rupnik1, Andrea Saporito2, Gina Votta-Velis3 and Jose Aguirre1

1Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Balgrist University Hospital, Switzerland 2Department of Anesthesiology, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona and Valli, Switzerland 3Department of Anesthesiology, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA 4Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

*Correspondance to: Alain Borgeat 

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Abstract

SARS-COV-2 infects the host using the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is expressed in several organs, including the lung, heart, kidney and digestive tract. ACE2 receptors are also widely expressed by endothelial cells. The presence of viral inclusion bodies in endothelial cells of the glomerular capillary loops, within the intima of vessels in small bowel and large arterial vessel. They demonstrated cellular dysfunction caused by the presence of the virus itself in the endothelial cells and the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the surrounding milieu. The lung is one of the main targets in patients with COVID-19.

Keywords:

COVID-19; Cytokine storm; Hydrochloroquine; Remdesivir; Tocilizumab; Lidocaine; Coronavirus

Citation:

Borgeat A, Rupnik B, Saporito A, Votta-Velis G, Aguirre J. COVID-19: Understanding the Physiopathology to Target the Therapy. Ann Clin Anesth Res. 2020;4(1):1032..

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