Even after months of tumultuous research and studies, COVID-19 remains elusive as ever. In an unexpected happening, however, professionals at the University of Oxford announced on June 16, 2020, that the world may finally have something to hold onto—the inexpensive and extremely common Dexamethasone, which is believed to have reduced deaths in patients with severe cases of COVID-19.
Dexamethasone is essentially a steroid drug, which was used by doctors treating the sickest COVID-19 patients in Britain. In cases where COVID-19 becomes extremely invasive, the virus travels down to the airway and lungs, which then proceeds to attack the cells that keep it healthy. This caused irreversible infections, which leads patients stuck in oxygen tanks.
“COVID—in the extreme case—can cause ARDS, and that’s why people die predominantly,” Bram Rochwerg says, a professor at McMaster University. People gradually deteriorate after weeks due to the virus, but the body’s response to the inflammation and infection is what damages the lungs.
Through the help of the Dexamethasone, however, scientists postulate such damages could be prevented. It has shown to significantly reduce the inflammation caused by the immune system, keeping the cells and tissues of the lungs healthy.
The Saving Grace of Dexamethasone
Hospitals around the world continue to fight with an invisible enemy, offering COVID-19 patients nothing but machines to keep them alive and beds to support their sick bodies. For the desperate, exhausted, and dying, any semblance of hope has caused some sort of elation—and for good reason.
Although studies remain at the works, the drug has appeared to reduce the death rate of patients in ventilators by one-third, while patients on oxygen tanks have been reduced by one-fifth.
This is regarded as a breakthrough in the medical world, as the closest drug that’s effective in treating COVID-19 has so far only been Remdesivir, which is an antiviral drug. Unfortunately, this drug only shortens the recovery time and nothing more.
With vaccines and treatments yet to be discovered, the news of Dexamethasone has once again resounded in every corner of the world. It’s so far the only drug to have been proven to help increase COVID-19 survival, as described by Peter Horby, one of the clinical trial’s chief investigators.
Some Drawbacks
While the steroid drug may be causing ripples, other experts continue to point out that the breakthrough remains unacceptable, especially without the presence of a proper paper to study. Hospitals across the United States, in particular, continue to wait desperately for studies before employing the drug on their patients.
While Dr. Jeremy Faust postulates that the breakthrough is welcome and holds much credibility, more information is still necessary, especially when it comes to the drug’s side effects.
“But what are the neurological outcomes? Do we just cause prolonged suffering in one in eight patients on vents? Or did we help many? No clue!”
The COVID-19 Battle and Beyond
In a world riddled by a pandemic unforeseen and death tolls rising, medical experts emphasize that it’s completely normal to cling onto the hope brought by Dexamethasone. It’s indeed a step towards the right direction and at the very least, a testament that a cure for COVID-19 out there, somewhere.
Without much research and reviews, however, the wonders of Dexamethasone remain to be tainted with questions. Doctors urge that papers be reviewed, suggestions are made, and studies to continue to be conducted. It’s one thing to cure a COVID-19 patient, but quite another to deal with the side effects caused by the very treatment.
There’s no use subjecting humanity into further chaos. For now, the world waits.
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