Dexamethasone What is Dexamethasone?

• Dexamethasone is "the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19".
• It is inexpensive and can be used immediately tosave lives worldwide.

What is its chemical nature?

• Dexamethasone is a steroid drug.
• Steroid tablets, also called corticosteroid tablets, are a type of anti-inflammatory medicine used to treat a range of conditions.

How it works?

• It is typically used to reduce inflammation.
• They can be used to treat problems such as allergies, asthma, eczema, inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis.
• Steroid drugs reduce inflammation, which sometimes develops in COVID-19 patients as the immune system overreacts to fight the infection.
• This overreaction can prove fatal, so doctors have been testing steroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs in such patients.
• Overall dexamethasone reduced the 28-day mortality rate by 17% with a highly significant trend showing greatest benefit among those patients requiring ventilation.

What are the other drugs used?

• Other methods of treatment in the ongoing trial includes the HIV drug LopinavirRitonavir, antibiotic Azithromycin, anti-inflammatory treatment Tocilizumab, and Convalescent plasma.