UK experts say that low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus.The drug is part of the world's largest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.This reduces the risk of death for patients on ventilators by one-third. For those on oxygen, it cuts deaths by one fifth.
If the drug had been used to treat patients in Britain since the onset of the epidemic, 5,000 lives could have been saved.And it can be of great benefit in poorer countries with higher number of Covid-19 patients.The UK government has 200,000 courses of the drug in its reserves and says the NHS will provide dexamethasone to patients.
About 19 out of 20 patients with coronavirus recover without being admitted to hospital.
Of those who are admitted, most also recover but some may need oxygen or mechanical ventilation.
And these are the high-risk patients dexamethasone appears to help.
The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions.And it seems to help prevent some of the damage that can occur when the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight the coronary virus.This over-reaction, a cytokine storm, can be fatal.
Researchers at the University of Oxford said on Tuesday that the generic steroid drug reduced the deaths of very ill Covid-19 patients in a large clinical trial.
In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and more than 4,000 who were not.For patients on ventilators, this reduces the risk of death from 40% to 28%.For patients requiring oxygen, this cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.
Chief investigator Professor Peter Horby said: This is the only drug ever shown to reduce mortality - and it significantly reduces it. Its a huge success.Principal researcher Prof Martin Landray said the findings suggest that a life can be saved:Every eight patients on the ventilator Treated with oxygen every 20-25Theres a clear, obvious benefit, he said.
"The treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about £5 per patient.
"So essentially it costs £35 to save a life.
"This is a drug that is globally available."
When appropriate, hospital patients should now be given it without delay, Prof Landray said.
But people should not go out and buy it to take at home.
Dexamethasone does not appear to help people with milder symptoms of coronavirus who do not need help with their breathing.
The Recovery Trial, running since March, also looked at the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has subsequently been ditched amid concerns it increases fatalities and heart problems.The antiviral drug remdesivir, meanwhile, which appears to shorten recovery time for people with coronavirus, is already being made available on the NHS.
The first drug to cut deaths from Covid-19 is not some new, expensive drug, but an old, inexpensive C-chip steroid.This is something to celebrate as it means that patients around the world can benefit immediately.And that's why the top-line results of this test have been taken out - because the implications are huge globally.
Dexamethasone has been used since the early 1960s to treat a wide range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.Half of all Covid patients who require a ventilator do not survive, so cutting that risk by a third would have a huge impact.The drug is given intravenously in intensive care and in tablet form for less seriously ill patients.
So far, the only other drugs proven to benefit Covid patients is remdesivir, which has been used for Ebola.That has been shown to reduce the duration of coronavirus symptoms from 15 days to 11.But the evidence was not strong enough to show whether it reduces mortality.Unlike dexamethasone, remdesivir is a new drug with limited supplies and a price has yet to be announced.
