Saudi finds Dexamethasone efficient to treat Covid-19 patients

Statistics show 35% reduction in mortality for severely affected patients

Riyadh: The Saudi Ministry officially approved the drug Dexamethasone to treat seriously ill corona patients and those on ventilators. A team of UK researchers had revealed that this generic steroid medicine could reduce the mortality rate, when tested in Covid-19 patients with serious symptoms. Saudi Ministry of Health declared that Dexamethasone would be used within the global treatment protocol for corona patients.

Efficiency of the drug:

“We have already started to give dexamethasone to hospitalized patients and those under intensive care who need oxygen,” the ministry’s spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Al Abdul Ali said. He stressed, “Healthcare specialists at the ministry are following the findings of studies conducted by research centers globally”. Meanwhile, the Ministry asked all the hospitals and health care units in the Kingdom to revise the Covid treatment protocols. This update, with Dexamethasone, will be for critically ill Covid-19 patients on oxygen and respiratory support who are currently under intensive care.

Dr. Al Abdul Ali said: “According to studies, Dexamethasone has been proven to cut mortality by as much as 35 per cent for patients on ventilators, and by about 20 per cent for those on oxygen only”. Dexamethasone has become a major breakthrough in the otherwise dead-end treatment for Covid-19 infection, according to UK researchers. Another viable reason for including Dexamethasone in Covid treatment protocol is its low cost and availability. The researchers from UK had already tested this drug in patients and authorized its efficiency in cutting down the mortality rate. They also confirm that the patients they had tested were so seriously ill that they were ventilated and were having less than 50 per cent of survival chance.

Dexamethasone:

Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid hormone (glucocorticoid). It increases our body’s natural defensive response and reduces symptoms such as swelling and allergic-type reactions. Consume this drug only under the prescription of a registered medical practitioner. The general advice would be consumption by mouth with a full glass of water (8 ounces/240 milliliters) unless our doctor directs otherwise. If we are using the liquid form of the medication, use a medication-measuring device to carefully measure the prescribed dose. Do not use a household spoon.

As per ‘WebMD’ data, if a patient takes this medication once daily, take it in the morning before 9 AM. If he is taking this medication every other day or on another schedule besides a daily one, it may help to mark his calendar with a reminder. The dosage and length of treatment are based on the medical condition and response to therapy. The doctor may attempt to reduce the dose slowly from time to time to minimize side effects.

The world is looking upto this drug with hope as an alternative to Hydroxychloroquine. The HCQ was considered very efficient to get immune from Covid infection. Even the President of the USA, Mr. Donald Trump revealed unofficially that he was taking the drug. But it was only a few weeks before, a research team proved it wrong. According to them, HCQ is not at all found to make a person immune against Covid-19 virus. While HCQ attempted an immunity from the virus, Dexamethasone is expected to be a treatment for this deadly virus.