What’s in the news?

• The World Health Organisation has welcomed the initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom that shows dexamethasone can be a lifesaving drug for patients who are critically ill with Covid-19.
• According to preliminary findings shared with the WHO, dexamethasone was seen to reduce mortality by about one third for patients on ventilators, and for patients requiring only oxygen, and the mortality was cut by about one fifth.
• The benefit was only seen in patients seriously ill with Covid-19, and was not observed in patients with milder disease.
• It was an outcome of a WHO-administered RECOVERY trial — the largest global clinical trial — that is checking the ability of several re-purposed drugs to treat COVID-19.

About dexamethasone 

• It is an anti-inflammatory drug.
• Commonly used to treat conditions in which the body’s immune system does not function properly, and causes inflammation and tissue damage.
• Dexamethasone reduces the production of the chemicals that cause inflammation and also reduces the activity of the immune system by affecting the way white blood cells function.
• Dexamethasone falls in a category called corticosteroids, which closely mimic cortisol, the hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands in humans. 
• During the SARS outbreak in 2003, corticosteroid therapy was used to reduce inflammatory-induced lung injury. In Covid-19, too, many countries are investigating the effectiveness of corticosteroid therapy on patients with an acute respiratory infection.
• The clinical management protocol for Covid-19 released by the Health Ministry allows the use of corticosteroid therapy.
• However, improper use of systemic corticosteroids can increase the risk of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Osteonecrosis refers to the death of bone tissue due to lack of blood supply.
• Health Ministry protocol says a larger dose of glucocorticoid will delay the removal of coronavirus due to immunosuppressive effects.
• So, for patients with progressive deterioration of oxygenation indicators, rapid worsening and excessive activation of the body’s inflammatory response, corticosteroids can be used.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/dexamethasone-covid-treatment-trial-explained-6465602/