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After successfully carrying out a 6,000-patient trial, scientists found Dexamethasone -- a well-known, inexpensive steroid -- helped those with severe cases of the virus.
One-third of the patients in the trial that were receiving ventilation had a reduced death rate, as did the one-fifth of patients on oxygen when treated with Dexamethasone, the scientists said. Patients who did not require respiratory support apparently did not benefit from the drug.
National Health Service doctors will use the steroid will to treat COVID-19 patients starting Tuesday afternoon, Matt Hancock, Britain’s health secretary, the New York Times reports. The government had already acquired about 200,000 doses after seeing potential in its use, Hancock said.
‘Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19," said Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.
"This is an extremely welcome result. The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients. Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide."
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