Dexamethasone 101: How Does It Work And What You Should Not Use It For

As per a recently conducted Recovery (Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 therapy) trial, conducted by the University of Oxford, it has been found that dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory drug, can save the lives of patients in hospital seriously ill with Covid-19.

Dexamethasone, normally used for inflammation or swelling in the body, was tested along with other medicines used for other conditions to find out if they can be useful in treating Covid-19.

In the trial, that happened over a duration of 10 days, around 2,100 patients received a 6mg daily dose of dexamethasone and the progress they made was compared to another group of over 4,300 patients who weren’t administered any additional treatment.

As per the trials’ results, scientists have found that for patients on ventilators, dexamethasone can save one out of three people. For patients who are on respiratory support, it can prevent one death in five. No significant change was seen if the patient administered the drug was not on a ventilator or had milder symptoms. It is only recommended for adults and shouldn’t be given to those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

How does dexamethasone prove to be effective?

As dexamethasone is a steroid that diminishes the inflammation triggered by the body when it tries to fight off coronavirus and goes into overdrive- a fatal reaction that starts attacking the body's own cells.

As dexamethasone is a low-cost drug, already exists in the market, and is in good supply, it will allow its rapid administration whenever needed.

The Department of Health and Social Care has already added the drug to the government's parallel export list, ensuring that companies don’t buy the drug and sell it at a higher price in other countries.

The trial results have been very positive and appreciated by the World Health Organization. As mentioned above, the low cost of the drug would mean that it is easily available in developing countries like many African nations.

Another plus side of dexamethasone is that "no excess harms” were identified in using “this dose of dexamethasone in this patient population”, as shared by The Chief Medical Officer for England.