Steroid cuts deaths in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory illnessUnpublished data from a large randomized controlled trial in the United Kingdom indicate that dexamethasone, a cheap, widely available steroid, reduces deaths in hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring respiratory support.In a news release today, investigators with the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) trial said that, when compared with usual care, 6 milligrams of dexamethasone administered once per day for 10 days reduced deaths by one-third in ventilated COVID-19 patients (rate ratio [RR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48 to 0.88; P = 0.0003) and by one fifth in patients receiving oxygen (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.96; P = 0.0021).
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