Coronavirus: Dexamethasone can help save lives of very ill patients, British trial into low-cost drug finds
- Researchers gave the anti-inflammatory drug to some 2,000 hospitalised patients
- Dexamethasone reduced deaths by one-third for patients on ventilators and one-fifth among patients who were on supplemental oxygen
A low-cost and widely available drug has been found to reduce the death rate by one-third among most severe Covid-19 patients, according to trial data published on Tuesday.
Dexamethasone, a generic anti-inflammatory medication, was hailed as the first life-saving drug by the University of Oxford scientists leading the coronavirus treatment testing project named “RECOVERY”.
Scientists around the world are racing against the clock to find a treatment for Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus that has sickened over 8 million and killed more than 431,000 globally. There are currently no specific treatments or vaccines for the deadly virus.
The trial gave a low dose – 6 milligrams – of the steroid to 2,104 hospitalised patients for 10 days and results were compared with 4,321 patients who did not use the drug.
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A generic steroid helps save lives of coronavirus patients, Oxford trial finds
Dexamethasone reduced deaths by one-third for patients on ventilators and one-fifth among patients who were on supplemental oxygen, compared to those who only received usual care.