SCIENTISTS TO TEST HIGH DEXAMETHASONE DOSES IN COVID-19 PATIENTS

    İmage Credit: AFP Photo

British scientists will investigate whether higher doses of a cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone might work better in severe COVID-19 patients compared to  standard lower doses, they said Thursday. , showed that it was able to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in  a so-called "breakthrough" in the coronavirus pandemic. 

They found that a 6 mg daily dose of dexamethasone,  used to reduce inflammation in diseases such as arthritis, reduced the death rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients in hospitals by about a third.

"Given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, we can expect  patients  with severe COVID-19 to be hospitalized for a while," said Peter Horby, a professor at Oxford University who co-led the study.

 “So it is very important that we continue RECOVERY to  compare a higher dose of 20 mg  dexamethasone given once a day for five days, followed by 10 mg once a day for  another five days, with the usual low dose treatment.

Process is supported by the UK government and Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French's charity.

Last week,  scientists began investigating GSK and Vir Biotechnology's antibody-based drug COVID19  as a possible treatment for hospital patients.

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