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A study done in United Kingdom has found that Dexamethasone, a steroid, is quite effective in reducing COVID-19 mortality. Experts believe that it is a major breakthrough in the fight against COVID-19.

This Tuesday, UK researchers notified the public regarding their findings via media briefing. They said that they've the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, easily available steroid called dexamethasone. The study called "The RECOVERY Trial" found that dexamethasone cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

Dexamethasone is a type of corticosteroid medication that is used in the treatment of many serious diseases like rheumatic diseases, a number of skin diseases and respiratory problems like asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, etc.

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The drug is a part of world's biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for novel coronavirus. The study is a large, strict test that randomly assigned 2,104 patients to get the drug and compared them with 4,321 patients getting only usual care.

The drug was given either orally or through an IV. After 28 days, it had reduced deaths by 35% in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines and by 20% in those only needing supplemental oxygen. It did not appear to help people with mild disease.

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It should be noted that the RECOVERY trial was launched in April as a randomized clinical trial to test a range of potential treatments for novel coronavirus infection, including low-dose dexamethasone and the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

Researchers said that they would soon publish the study. With more than 8.2 million cases and 446,000 plus deaths worldwide, COVID-19 is still unstoppable in most countries and thus the desperation of scientists and medical experts to find a cure is sky-high. This steroid has proven to be a breath of fresh air as it can potentially save thousands of lives worldwide.

Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor co-leading the trial stated this in the briefing:

"This is a result that shows that if patients who have COVID-19 and are on ventilators or are on oxygen are given dexamethasone, it will save lives, and it will do so at a remarkably low cost. It is going to be very hard for any drug really to replace this, given that for less than 50 pounds ($63.26), you can treat eight patients and save a life."

His co-lead investigator, Peter Horby, said the steroid was "the only drug that has so far shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly. It's a major breakthrough."

He further went on to say:

"Dexamethasone is inexpensive, over-the-counter, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.
The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients."

World Health Organization responded to the news by dubbing it as a welcoming development. Dr. Tedros 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. This is great news and I congratulate the Government of the UK, the University of Oxford, and the many hospitals and patients in the UK who have contributed to this lifesaving scientific breakthrough.”