Experts continue looking for ways to overcome COVID-19. Now, a new study suggests that cheap steroids can treat severe cases of COVID-19. The results of the study support existing evidence of steroids treating the virus. With those studies together, the WHO has authorized the use of steroid drugs to treat severe COVID-19. However, people with only mild illnesses can’t use drugs.
Steroids Against COVID-19
Three new studies examined the effects of corticosteroids on people with severe o moderate COVID-19. In medicine, these drugs reduce inflammation and dampen a person’s immune response.
Cheap steroid drugs can save the lives of people with severe covid-19, new studies suggest https://t.co/tdMUR9zyrC
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) September 2, 2020
Moreover, the WHO also reviewed the evidence for using steroids to treat people with critical COVID-19 illnesses. The WHO’s review looked at the new trials and five others.
The WHO Steroid Review
For its review, the WHO studied over 1,700 people suffering from critical or severe COVID-19. To start, the experts grouped the patients into three. The first group got standard care, while the second one got steroid drugs, and the third group got a placebo. Overall, the WHO found that steroid use increased a critical COVID-19 patient’s chance of survival.
The WHO found that people who got the placebo, or standard drugs, received a 41% “absolute risk” of death within 28 days. On the other hand, the patients who got the steroid treatment just received a 33% risk of death.
Can Steroids Cure COVID-19?
Despite the promising results, steroids are not a cure for COVID-19. A ramped-up immune response causes ARDS and sepsis, which means the body’s immune system has turned against itself.
Steroids calm down the immune system, which is why it works for severe COVID-19 patients. However, patients with moderate illness still need a robust immune system to stay alive, so they don’t need steroids.