Europe’s medicines regulator issued a statement on Thursday which says that there was not enough evidence to support the use of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with Covid-19.
As per the statement issued by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), its Covid-19 taskforce has not found any safety risks for corticosteroids so far. But there is a higher risk of adverse effects in patients who have normal oxygen levels.
However, it backed the use of dexamethasone based on sufficient data.
Inflammation-fighting medicines, including some arthritis treatments and corticosteroids such as dexamethasone and budesonide, are some of the treatment options scientists across the world have been exploring to treat Covid-19 patients. Researches are going on to find the effectiveness of nhaled Steroids For Covid-19.
An infection of the novel coronavirus can cause swelling in organs, including the lungs, which can also lead to severe complications.
The EMA in September endorsed dexamethasone for treating Covid-19 patients with breathing problems after a British trial showed it helped cut death rates in severely ill, hospitalised patients. The decades-old drug is cheap and widely available.
“More evidence from clinical trials is necessary to establish the benefits of inhaled corticosteroids in people with Covid-19,” the EMA said.
Corticosteroids are lab-made medicines, which work in the body like the hormone cortisol in fighting and controlling swelling. Inhaled versions are typically used to treat lung problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The role of inhaled corticosteroids in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has been widely discussed since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, when initial descriptions of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 from China showed a lower prevalence of chronic respiratory disease than that in the general population.1 The rationale for further investigation of any role of inhaled corticosteroids in offering some protection—either against SARS-CoV-2 infection or against the development of severe COVID-19—has been strengthened following the publication of several in-vitro studies.
