Investigators working on the United Kingdom-based recovery trial announced that Dexamethasone, a low-cost and widely available steroid that lowers inflammation, improved patients’ chances of surviving severe COVID-19, the News Agency of Nigeria is reporting.
During the study, about 2,100 COVID-19 patients were treated with dexamethasone for 10 days.
Patients on mechanical ventilation who were given Dexamethasone were 35 per cent less likely to die compared to patients on ventilators who did not get the treatment.
In patients on less invasive forms of breathing support, Dexamethasone decreased the risk of death by 20 per cent, while patients who did not require any respiratory help saw no improvements after taking the steroid.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said that it was aware of recent outcomes from a UK-Government funded clinical trial for COVID-19.
It said the results support the use of Dexamethsaone as a possible treatment to reduce the risk of death among COVID-19 patients, who require oxygen or mechanical ventilation.
The health agency called on Nigerians to note that the Government of Nigeria has not validated or approved any treatment for COVID-19.
In addition, the NCDC said the use of Dexamethasone for COVID-19 treatment has not been validated by the World Health Organisation.
It said: “We are aware of ongoing clinical trials conducted by scientists in the UK and will work with our sister agencies to evaluate this emerging data on the use of Dexamethasone.
“We will inform the general public on outcomes following scientific review and validation.”
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