Cheap steroid drugs can help seriously ill patients survive COVID-19: WHO

NEW DELHI | Sept 03, 2020:

International clinical trials published on Wednesday confirmed the hope that cheap, widely available steroid drugs can help seriously ill patients survive Covid-19.

Based on the new evidence, the World Health Organization issued new treatment guidance, strongly recommending steroids to treat severely and critically ill patients, but not to those with mild disease.

An analysis of pooled results from seven studies, led by a group from the World Health Organization, found that steroids reduced the risk of death in the first month by about one-third compared with placebo treatment or usual care alone in these seriously ill patients who needed extra oxygen.

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The findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study concluded that each of the three drugs reduced the risk of death.

JAMA published that paper and the related studies, along with an editorial describing the research as an important step forward in the treatment of patients with Covid-19. The authors said Corticosteroids should now be the first-line treatment for critically ill patients.