Perfil das pesquisas clínicas relacionadas à COVID-19 na América do Sul / Profile of clinical research relating to COVID-19 in South America

Abstract

Introduction: The Coronavirus virus family is responsible for respiratory infections and in 2019 a new agent was discovered in China named COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared in January 2020 that the outbreak of the disease caused by the new coronavirus constituted a public health emergency of international importance, which corresponds to the highest level of alert, as provided for in the international health regulation. In March 2020, COVID-19 was characterized by WHO as a pandemic. Although the incidence and prevalence data are dynamic, since the disease is still spreading around the world, in May 2020, Brazil ranked 5th in terms of the number of deaths from the disease and the 2nd in number of infected. On May 22, 2020, WHO declared that South America had become the new epicenter of COVID-19, with Brazil being the country most affected. With the emergence of the pandemic and the urgency to solve, control and understand the disease, numerous interventional or epidemiological clinical researches have been initiated for this purpose. Objective: This article sought to identify the profile of clinical research related to COVID-19 in South America during the period from January 2020 to July 2020 and to discuss its challenges. Material and Method: an Ciconeli M, Martinez LL. Perfil das pesquisas clínicas relacionadas à COVID-19 na América do Sul. Arq Med Hosp Fac Cienc Med Santa Casa São Paulo.