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Human physiology, hazards and health risks
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2016
David J. Baker, Naima Bradley, Alec Dobney, Virginia Murray, Jill R. Meara, John O’Hagan, Neil P. McColl, Caryn L. Cox
Pre-exposure vaccination of travellers to endemic areas and those at occupational risk assists control. Early provision of post-exposure prophylaxis involving the prompt and thorough cleansing of wounds, vaccination and, where indicated, rabies immunoglobulin also contributes to effective prevention and control.
Emerging technologies for diagnostics and drug delivery in the fight against COVID-19 and other pandemics
Published in Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2020
Many of the drug molecules that are currently under investigation for the COVID-19 prevention or treatment can be manufactured as solid oral dosage forms using FDM 3DP by manufacturing tablets including animal shape medications that can be used for pediatrics or geriatrics. An example of a new oral drug that is under investigation called EIDD-2801 [12]. Moreover, oral drugs that are mainly used for the treatment of malaria or inflammatory conditions, such as hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ), are also under investigation with or without the combination of other drug molecules, for pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis or for the treatment of COVID-19. A clinical trial started in April 2020 in New York hospitals is testing, for the first time, the effectiveness of famotidine (an antacid drug for heartburn) to COVID-19 in combination with the HCQ. Researches have also tested the CQ diphosphate in combination with azithromycin (an antibiotic used to treat chest infections) and oseltamivir (an antiviral medication used to prevent and treat influenza A & B); however, they concluded that CQ can cause to some patients with a dose-dependent increase in heart abnormality [13]. Personalized dose-dependent DDS can be quickly manufactured by 3DP in hospitals per patient's needs and avoid such complications. In June 2020, a UK clinical trial study under the codename RECOVERY shows that low doses of the steroid drug dexamethasone (DM; a common and inexpensive drug that created in 1957) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 reduced mortality by one-third among patients in serious condition. DM filaments can be prepared by hot-melt extrusion (HME) and formulations to be printed in accurate doses by FDM 3DP. For the successful manufacturing of DDSs by 3DP, it is very important to appropriate select materials and printing parameters, by firstly understanding the physicochemical properties of the individual drug molecules that are under investigation.