COVID-19 Update: Dexamethasone Appears As The Most Effective Drug For Coronavirus Treatment

Dexamethasone has been hailed as the first life-saving drug for patients with severe COVID-19.

The low-cost and widely available drug has been a part of the world’s largest clinical trial testing different drugs for effectiveness against the novel coronavirus. Researchers in the U.K. reported on Monday, June 16 that dexamethasone reduced the risk of death by one-third for infected patients requiring ventilator support.

For its potential to reduce the risk of death in patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19, low-dose steroid treatment with dexamethasone has been hailed as a breakthrough in the field of coronavirus research and clinical testing so far.

The researchers based their conclusion on results of a trial involving 6,000 patients, out of which 2,000 were given dexamethasone.

The research, led by Oxford University, found that the drug helped reduce the risk of death from 40 to 28 percent in patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

"This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly. It's a major breakthrough," said Chief Investigator Professor Peter Horby

The researchers further said that had the drug been used since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.K., the lives of as many as 5000 individuals could have been saved. The team says that the drug can still be used in poorer countries with a higher number of patients with COVID-19.

The UK government announced that the NHS will now make dexamethasone available to the patient. The country is estimated to have 200,000 courses of the drug available in stock already.

Out of every 20 patients who get infected by a novel coronavirus, 19 can recover without the need for the hospital admission. Some patients require hospital admission because of the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and a few of them may even require mechanical ventilation.

Dexamethasone has been reported to be beneficial as it helps improve the clinical condition of a critically ill patient, and thus, there is a significant reduction in death rate as well.

The drug is commonly available in a majority of countries and is a low-cost steroid medication used to reduce inflammation in patients with certain conditions.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his happiness over the groundbreaking achievement.

"We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak," he said in a briefing.