A new analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that inexpensive, widely available steroid drugs help reduce mortality in critically ill coronavirus patients, shedding more light on the way to treat the virus.
The analysis, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at seven clinical trials involving 1,703 patients. It was found that steroids such as dexamethasone help reduce mortality in critically ill patients.
These findings confirmed an earlier study in June, which concluded that drugs reduced mortality by one-third in critically ill patients.
New serious recommendations were issued Wednesday by the World Health Organization, recommending the use of seven to 10 days of steroid treatment “in patients with severe and complex COVID-19”. It is also recommended not to use the treatment in patients with severe-severe cases of the disease, “current data show that they do not potentially benefit and harm.”
While the new study provides more evidence of ways to treat the virus, it is far from a complete cure.
With the exception of steroid medications, some patients have had a slight benefit from rimadesivir. Convulsive plasma has also been cracked down on by the Trump administration, although experts say more tests are needed to show it works.
The WHO said in its recommendations that steroid drugs represent “a significant reduction in the risk of death”.
.
