Results of the study on the different drugs that helped reduced COVID-19 deaths were published. Only one out of three drugs is proven to be effective.

Dexamethasone
Reutersconnect

In this time of the global pandemic, people around must be updated about what drugs work and what don't. Fresh and new studies that are done using the scientific method with empirical analysis will give reliable results.

On Friday, British researchers published the result of their study. It shows that only the cheap steroid called dexamethasone has shown improvement to COVID-19 patients. The other two studies found out that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine does not help patients with only mild symptoms.

Before studies were conducted about drugs that help treat COVID-19 patients, some doctors and patients tried therapies on their own or through a host of studies not strong enough or do not have enough evidence to give clear answers. That includes the use of hydroxychloroquine which is used by other countries to treat COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Clifford Lane of the National Institutes of Health wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine that there will need to have fewer or inconclusive studies for the field to move forward. They also added that for the patients' outcomes to improve.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Bach, a health policy expert at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said that it is now the time to do more studies comparing treatments and testing combinations.

Here are the results of the three drugs tested:

Dexamethasone

This type of steroid is widely used to tamp down inflammation. The use of Dexamethasone which was treated to the COVID-19 patients was proven to be effective. Around 2,104 patients were given the drug while 4.321 patients were getting the usual care.

The dug reduced COVID-19 deaths among the patients who were taking the drugs by 36 percent. These are patients who need ventilators to support their breathing.

Additionally, 29 percent of those who were treated using the drug died compared to the 41 percent who died while given usual care. This means that it reduced the death rate of COVID-19 patients who needed ventilators by 18 percent.

When the drug was compared to other drugs, it was found out that its death rate is 23 percent while other drugs have recorded 26 percent. However, the study found out that this drug is harmful if given at the earlier stages of those with milder cases.

Dr. Fauci and Lane wrote that the clarity of who does and does not benefit from the steroid will be based on how many lives saved.

Hydroxychloroquine

The same study was conducted rigorously using the drug. It was found out that the drug did not help COVID-19 patients. In fact, in the previous research of The Lancet, almost 10,000 out of over 14,000 COVID-19 patients died after taking the anti-malarial drug.

In the recent Oxford study conducted, it was found out that 25.7 percent died compared to 23.5 percent to those who were given usual care. It is suspected that the small difference could have occurred by chance. Researchers published that the drug may harm the patients.

Remdesivir

Memorial Sloan Kettering's Bach said that the drug needs to be tested in combination with dexamethasone. He also said that the role of remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients is what they need t figure out. Even though, this is the only other therapy that is proven to help COVID-19 patients.

Researchers are very eager to see how many patients received other drugs such as steroids and hydroxychloroquine.

Moreover, Gilead, the maker of remdesivir, is now making an inhaled version of the drug to be tried to less ill COVID-19 patients to try to keep them from getting sick and to avoid hospitalization.

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