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Low-cost dexamethasone reduces death by up to one third in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19
On 8 June, dexamethasone arm was halted
Experimental group
2,104 patients randomised to dexamethasone 6 mg once per day for ten days
Intravenously or orally
Control group
4321 patients randomised to usual care alone
Usual care alone group, 28-day mortality
Those who required ventilation = 41%
Those who required oxygen only = 25%
Those who did not require any respiratory intervention = 13%
Dexamethasone
Reduced deaths by one third in ventilated patients
Rate ratio 0.65 (p=0.0003)
Reduced deaths by one fifth in patients receiving oxygen only
Rate ratio 0.80 (p=0.0021)
No benefit in patients who did not require respiratory support
1 death would be prevented by treatment of around 8 ventilated patients
1 death would be prevented by treatment of 25 patients requiring oxygen alone
Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19
This is an extremely welcome result
The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen
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
Dexamethasone reduces the risk of death among patients with severe respiratory complications
It is fantastic that the first treatment demonstrated to reduce mortality is one that is instantly available and affordable worldwide
Sir Patrick Vallance
‘This is tremendous news today from the Recovery trial showing that dexamethasone is the first drug to reduce mortality from COVID-19. It is particularly exciting as this is an inexpensive widely available medicine.
‘This is a ground-breaking development in our fight against the disease, and the speed at which researchers have progressed finding an effective treatment is truly remarkable. It shows the importance of doing high quality clinical trials and basing decisions on the results of those trials.’
5,000 lives could have been saved in the UK
200,000 courses of the drug in NHS stockpile
Remdesivir
Appears to shorten recovery time, is available with the NHS
Reduces the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11
