Donald Trump looks on from the Truman Balcony as he returns to the White House
US President Donald Trump is being treated for COVID-19 with a steroid that is recommended for severe cases of the disease and carries risks of serious side effects, including mood swings, aggression, and confusion.
Trump’s medical team said Sunday that the president had started taking dexamethasone, a long-term generic steroid widely used to reduce inflammation associated with other diseases. The steroid was started after Trump experienced low oxygen levels.
White House officials have painted an optimistic picture of Trump’s condition, saying he could be released from the hospital as soon as Monday. But dexamethasone has generally been reserved for more serious cases.
A study in June that was hailed as a breakthrough showed that use of the steroid reduced death rates by about a third among the most seriously ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Dexamethasone is used to treat immune system disorders, inflammatory conditions, respiratory problems, and other conditions by lowering the body’s natural defensive response, which can overreact and cause additional problems.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America says dexamethasone is beneficial for people with critical or severe COVID-19 who need extra oxygen. But studies show that the drug can be harmful in people with milder COVID-19 because it can suppress their natural immune response.
Additionally, side effects can include physical problems such as blurred vision and irregular heartbeats, as well as personality changes and difficulty thinking, according to the International Myeloma Foundation.
“Steroids are always very dangerous drugs to use,” said Edward Jones-Lopez, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
“This is why (dexamethasone) is used in critically ill patients … There may be neuropsychiatric side effects. These are drugs that we use very, very carefully.”
However, dexamethasone is a common steroid used in many patients who are low on oxygen as a result of COVID-19 and is generally harmless, said Amesh Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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