U. K. Researchers Report Dexamethasone is the First Drug to Improve COVID-19 Survival

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

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Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A steroid called dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.

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“This is an extremely welcome result,” one study leader, Peter Horby of the University of Oxford, said in a statement. “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. Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.”

Results from the study will be published soon. To read the entire story, go to https://time.com/5854219/uk-researchers-drug-covid-survival/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=time-health&utm_content=20200616&et_rid=32587470

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

The National Institutes of Health summary report (Updated: June 25, 2020):

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Based on the preliminary, unpublished results of the RECOVERY trial, the Panel recommends dexamethasone 6 mg daily for up to 10 days in patients with COVID-19 who are on mechanical ventilation (AI) or those who require supplemental oxygen but who are not on mechanical ventilation (BI). The Panel recommends against using dexamethasone to treat patients with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen (AI). The Panel may modify these recommendations based on the final published results of this study and the results of other ongoing studies.

The National Institutes of Health COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel Provides Recommendations for Dexamethasone in Patients with COVID-19