Coronavirus: WHO adopts preliminary results on dexamethasone use in treating COVID-19 patients

- WHO has adopted preliminary results on a new drug for COVID-19

- The global health agency said the trial results show that dexamethasone can be lifesaving for patients who are critically ill with COVID-19

- Dexamethasone's clinical trial was done in the United Kingdom

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As researches are being conducted worldwide by experts to arrive at a possible cure for the novel coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom.

Legit.ng reports that in a statement it issued on Tuesday, June 16, WHO said that the trial results show that dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, can be lifesaving for patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.

The statement further stated that for patients on ventilators, the treatment was shown to reduce mortality by about one third, and for patients requiring only oxygen, mortality was cut by about one fifth.

It said that the benefit was only seen in patients seriously ill with COVID-19 and was not observed in patients with milder disease.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said: “This is the first treatment to be shown to reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilator support.

Dexamethasone is a steroid that has been used since the 1960s to reduce inflammation in a range of conditions, including inflammatory disorders and certain cancers.

It has been listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines since 1977 in multiple formulations and is currently off-patent and affordably available in most countries.

"The researchers shared initial insights about the results of the trial with WHO, and we are looking forward to the full data analysis in the coming days.

"WHO will coordinate a meta-analysis to increase our overall understanding of this intervention. Its clinical guidance will be updated to reflect how and when the drug should be used in COVID-19."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that some doctors in the United Kingdom (UK) discovered a rather cheap steroid called Dexamethasone that has so far reduced death rates among persons infected with the virus.

It was reported that an Oxford University professor, Martin Landray, who is part of the research team for the pill, said Dexamethasone is capable of saving the lives of coronavirus patients who are on ventilators at a very low cost.

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Source: Legit.ng