Steroids reduce death risk of COVID-19, study shows

Anti-inflammatory steroids can reduce the risk of death in severely ill COVID-19 patients by 20 percent, according to analysis from researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

The researchers found that three treatments in the family of corticosteroid drugs－namely dexamethasone, hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone－improved outcomes when administered to critically ill COVID-19 patients.

The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved a meta-analysis of seven trials that looked at the use of steroid treatments to assist in recovery from novel coronavirus infection across 1,703 critically ill patients.

The analysis was coordinated by the World Health Organization and led by National Institute for Health Research, or NIHR, in Bristol.

Back in June, scientists called for more research into the use of corticosteroids as a treatment in severely ill COVID-19 patients, after a study from Oxford University provided evidence that dexamethasone might be effective. This triggered the WHO to delegate this latest analysis to NIHR researchers.

"Our review is good news in the effort to treat COVID-19," said Jonathan Sterne, deputy director of the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre.

Corticosteroids reduce inflammation by inhibiting or lessening the efficacy of proteins produced by the immune system, including cytokines.

Sometimes the immune system can overreact and produce too many of these proteins while fighting infection, causing harm to tissues.

Many health experts have theorized that a so-called cytokine storm occurs in some COVID-19 patients, leading researchers to consider the use of various anti-inflammatories as treatment.

"Steroids are a cheap and readily available medication," Sterne said.