According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with corticosteroid drugs reduces the risk of death by 20%.
The study is based on the analysis of seven international trials.
Steroids cut death rates among critically ill #coronavirus patients, according to a new @WHO analysis, which found that treatment with cheap corticosteroids 💊 reduces the risk of dying from #COVID19 by one-third.
More in @JAMA_current:https://t.co/8IqdD3lwTa
— Global Health Strategies (@GHS) September 2, 2020
This study has prompted the World Health Organisation to update its advice on treatment.
The researchers behind the study said in a statement that after pooling data from separate trails, we found that steroids improve survival rates of COVID-19 patients sick enough to be in intensive care in hospital.
These separate trials were conducted on low dose hydrocortisone, dexamethasone and methylprednisolone.
“This is equivalent to around 68% of (the sickest COVID-19) patients surviving after treatment with corticosteroids, compared to around 60% surviving in the absence of corticosteroids,” the researchers said in a statement.
The WHO’s clinical care lead, Janet Diaz, said the agency had updated its advice to include a “strong recommendation” for use of steroids in patients with severe and critical COVID-19.
New WHO Living Guidance for Corticosteroids and COVID-19. Thanks for all the collaborators in making this happen. Solidarity in bringing science to the bedside. https://t.co/YXUpD4RTyS @DrMikeRyan @DrTedros @doctorsoumya @GroveJohn @mvankerkhove @JAMA_current @PerVandvik @who
— Janet V. Diaz (@diazjv) September 2, 2020
The WHO’s updated guidance, published on its website late on Wednesday, said corticosteroids should only be used in treatment of the sickest COVID-19 patients, and not in non-severe cases, since “the treatment brought no benefits (in milder cases) and could even prove harmful”.
“The evidence shows that if you give corticosteroids …(there are) 87 fewer deaths per 1,000 patients,” she told a WHO social media live event. “Those are lives … saved.”
The trials – conducted by researchers in Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Spain and the United States – gave a consistent message throughout, showing the drugs were beneficial in the sickest patients regardless of age or sex or how long patients had been ill.
The findings reinforce results that were announced in June, when dexamethasone became the first drug shown to be able to reduce death rates among severely sick COVID-19 patients.
Dexamethasone has been in widespread use in intensive care wards treating COVID-19 patients in some countries since then.
