• Dexamethasone. A "cheap and easily accessible" drug against coronavirus reduces the risk of death in patients with assisted ventilation
  • Live.Coronavirus in Spain, live breaking news

Doctors bet on dexamethasone from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected it as a therapeutic solution based on its lack of efficacy in previous coronaviruses. And they were right, based on the experience collected this week in a study from the University of Oxford, which concludes that this cheap and easily accessible drug can help save the lives of patients who are seriously affected by Covid-19 .

It is not the first time that the name of this substance has come to the fore in Spain. There was already talk of dexamethasone in 2017 after the stir caused by a supposed double non-compliance with anti-doping regulations by the Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos in 2017 and 2018 revealed by Football Leaks .

What is dexamethasone for?

It is a medication belonging to the glucocorticoid family and serves as an anti-inflammatory to relieve muscle pain and other ailments related to arthritis or asthma. It is administered orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, or rectally.

What are the advantages in the fight against the coronavirus?

Low-dose steroid treatment is a breakthrough in the fight against Covid-19 , by reducing the risk of death in a third of those patients who are connected to a respirator. They are the patients who experience the inflammatory phase that causes the infection. As for those who require an oxygen approach to the disease, the aforementioned drug reduces deaths by a fifth, according to these findings.

How many lives could dexamethasone save?

According to the researchers' estimates, if that drug had been available in the UK since the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved. Furthermore, due to its low cost, they consider that it could be very beneficial in poor countries that face large numbers of coronavirus patients . Approximately 19 out of 20 patients who become infected with coronavirus improve without having to be hospitalized, the Oxford study recalls.

Is its use in professional sports allowed?

No. Dexamethasone appears on the list of banned substances in competition and prepared by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2018. Of course, it can be used with medical authorization. Sergio Ramos, who suffered shoulder and knee pain, was infiltrated by the Real Madrid doctor before the Cardiff final to lessen the pain. This practice of infiltrations is common in elite competition.

Did Ramos artificially increase his performance with the use of dexamethasone?

No, that substance did not make him run anymore or increase his resistance, it only calmed the pain in his damaged joints.

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