A cheap
and widely available drug called dexamethasone can help save the lives of
patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus.
United Kingdom experts say the low-dose
steroid treatment is major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus.
It cut the risk of death by a third for
patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.
The drug is
part of the world's biggest trial
testing existing treatments to
see if they also work for coronavirus.
Researchers
estimate that if the drug had been available in the UK from the start of the
coronavirus pandemic up to 5,000 lives could have been saved. Because it is
cheap, it could also be of huge benefit in poor countries struggling with high
numbers of Covid-19 patients.
About 19 out
of 20 patients who get coronavirus get better without coming to hospital. Of
those who are admitted to hospital, most also get better, but some may need oxygen
or mechanical ventilation. These are the high risk patients that dexamethasone
appears to help.
The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, and it appears that it helps stop some of the damage that can happen when the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight off coronavirus.
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