Blood test may identify which COVID-19 patients are best candidates for steroid treatment

A new study led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System confirms the findings of the large scale British trial of steroid use for COVID-19 patients and advances the research by answering several key questions: Which patients are most likely to benefit from steroid therapy? Could some of them be harmed? Can other formulations of steroids substitute for the agent studied in the British trial? The research was published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

The U.K. RECOVERY trial, a prospective, randomized, open-label study of the steroid dexamethasone versus standard of care, involved more than 6,000 patients with COVID-19. Dexamethasone reduced deaths by about one-third in patients on ventilators and by about one-fifth among people who needed oxygen but were not on ventilators. However, the study leaves questions about the use of steroids for treating some patients…..more

Shared by Professor Shabir Moosa

Professor Moosa is a family physician in Soweto, Johannesburg. His interests are family medicine, community-oriented primary health care, and health management.