Steroids May Save COVID Patients and Cheapen Treatment, Study

Steroids may save COVID-19 patients and make treatment more affordable, according to an assessment of several worldwide studies on medicament alternatives to artificial respiratory support.

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"Steroids are a cheap and readily available medication, and our analysis has confirmed that they are effective in reducing deaths amongst the people most severely affected by Covid-19," says professor of medicine and epidemiology at Bristol University, Jonathan Sterne.

The specialists combined the findings of different studies on dexamethasone and hydrocortisone in COVID-19 treatment protocols. They evaluated both steroids' effectiveness, the moment of use, and accuracy aside ventilators.

A team from the Imperial College London evaluated the use of hydrocortisone in COVID-19 patients in over 80 hospitals. According to the research, in some cases, the drugs alleviate the urgency of a ventilator.

The Recovery trial, a study headed by Oxford University and conducted in U.K. National Health Service (NHS) hospitals, concluded that one in eight COVID-19 sufferers who need a ventilator could improve from a severe clinical condition after using dexamethasone.

 "This is not a drug that costs $3,000 to reduce a hospital stay by a few days. This is not anywhere near the sorts of costs in many, many other areas of acute and preventive medicine. So this is a widely available, widely useful strategy. I mean, treating people with dexamethasone is, give or take, 60 quid," professor of medicine and epidemiology at Oxford University and deputy chief investigator of the Recovery trial, Martin Landray said.

According to the studies, the drugs can increase recovery possibilities by 20% for COVID-19 patients in a severe condition. In the U.K., about 7 to 8% of COVID patients received dexamethasone in May and 55% in late June.