A "major step forward" in the fight against the sars coronavirus. A drug of the family of the steroid, dexamethasone, reduces by one third the mortality in patients with the most severely affected by the Covid-19, according to the first results of a large clinical trial. In the wake of this announcement, the uk government has indicated that this treatment was going to be immediately used to treat the patients concerned. "The dexamethasone is the first drug which we observe that it improves the survival in case of Covid-19 ", said in a press release the officials of the trial british Recovery. According to them, " a death on eight could be avoided through this treatment for patients placed under mechanical ventilation ".

"This is the first treatment proven to reduces the mortality in patients with by the Covid-19 under the assistance of oxygen or a respirator," commented the director-general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a press release. "This is good news and I congratulate the british government, Oxford university and the many hospitals and patients in the United Kingdom who have contributed to this scientific breakthrough that saves lives ", he added.

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dexamethasone can be used immediately to save lives around the world

" This is a major breakthrough in the search for new ways to treat the sick, the Covid ", also noted in a separate news release professor Stephen Powis, medical director of the NHS, the public service of british health.

"The benefit in terms of survival is important for patients who are sick enough to need oxygen, for which the dexamethasone should become the basic salary," said one of the leaders of the trial Recovery, professor Peter Horby, university of Oxford. "The dexamethasone is not expensive, already sold, and can be immediately used to save lives around the world," he continued.

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This drug is already used in many indications for its anti-inflammatory effect powerful. In the framework of the test Recovery, 2 104 patients received this treatment (intravenous or oral) for ten days. By comparing the 4 321 other patients who had not received, the researchers have determined that the treatment reduced by one third the mortality in patients under artificial ventilation.

In addition, the mortality has been reduced by one fifth in patients less severely ill, who administered oxygen through a face mask without intubation. In contrast, the treatment showed no benefit for patients who did not require respiratory assistance.