News reports reveal that scientists have made a latest discovery on a low-dose steroid drug called Dexamethasone which proves to be effective in combating COVID-19.
According to a trial, the drug cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. Researchers claim that if the drug had been used to treat patients in the United Kingdom from the onset of the disease outbreak, probably up to 5,000 lives could have been saved.
In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and compared with more than 4,000 who were not. For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%. For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%
Chief investigator Professor Peter Horby said: “This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality – and it reduces it significantly. It’s a major breakthrough”