Critically ill Carona Virus paitients benefit from steroid

The steroid dexamethasone was given to thousands of people critically ill with corona virus in a randomized, controlled trial.Credit: Dr P. Marazzi/Science Photo Library

An inexpensive and commonly used steroid can save the lives of people seriously ill with COVID-19, a randomized, controlled clinical trial in the United Kingdom has found. The drug, called dexamethasone, is the first shown to reduce deaths from the coronavirus that has killed more than 430,000 people globally. In the trial, it cut deaths by about one-third in patients who were on ventilators because of coronavirus infection.

Photo credit: Dr P. Marazzi/Science Photo Library   www.nature.com

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