The Health Department on Tuesday announced a breakthrough in one of the therapeutic trials for COVID-19 management.
Results of trials showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
The results suggest the drug should immediately become standard care in patients with severe cases of the pandemic disease, said the researchers who led the trials.
In a statement the Health department said, “We are extremely excited that there has been an important breakthrough in one of the therapeutic trials for COVID-19 management.”
The RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 therapy) trial also published results on its therapeutic merits of low dose dexamethasone which are extremely promising and were easily implementable in our country.
Dexamethasone is a well known and widely used steroid which has potent anti-inflammatory properties. It is used in allergic reactions, asthma and other conditions.
The Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 issued an advisory pertaining to the clinical applications of the breaking study results.
Professor of Infectious Diseases at UCT Marc Mendelson has however cautioned that the benefits that a UK trial has found from the generic steroid drug for people who have the coronavirus does not apply to those who have mild symptoms of the disease known as COVID-19.
Mendelson says the treatment is not for people who have mild symptoms.
He says, “The trial shows that dexamethasone reduces death rates in the most severe cases of COVID-19…”
Tests show steroid effective in worst COVID-19 cases
