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This Friday, the European Medicines Agency recommended dexamethasone for the treatment of severe cases of covid-19 that require the administration of oxygen.
The decision allows pharmaceutical companies that manufacture this drug, a corticosteroid commonly used in other situations, to request that the use for the treatment of COVID-19 in these cases be officially included in their marketing authorization.
“Based on the available data, the EMA approves the use of dexamethasone in adults and adolescents (older than 12 years and at least 40 kg) whose condition requires the administration of oxygen,” the agency said in a statement cited by AFP.
In particular, the EMA supports the decision in the findings of the Oxford University RECOVERY study, which were published in June.
“In intubated patients, 29% of those treated with dexamethasone died within 28 days of treatment, compared to 41% of those who did not receive treatment,” recalls the EMA. “In patients who received oxygen without being intubated, these figures were 23% with dexamethasone and 26% without it,” he adds.
On the other hand, “there was no reduction in the risk of death in patients who did not receive oxygen”, concludes the EMA.
In addition to this study on dexamethasone, a series of studies published on September 2 in the American medical journal Jama showed that medications from the entire family of corticosteroids can reduce mortality by 21% after 28 days in severe cases of covid. -19.
No other drug has so far shown significant effects in reducing mortality, which has led the World Health Organization to recommend “routine use of corticosteroids in patients with severe or critical forms” of the disease.
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