Hydrocortisone reduces mortality among those most affected by Covid-19

Illustration of caregivers battling the coronavirus at a London hospital.

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A little hope for the patients most affected by Covid-19?

Hydrocortisone, an inexpensive steroid, can reduce the risk of death of patients with severe forms of Covid-19 disease by around 20%, according to a study conducted in the United Kingdom, and published on September 2 in the

UK,

this treatment will now be used by doctors.

Hydrocortisone, an anti-inflammatory drug widely used in the medical field, makes it possible to increase “the chances of survival” but also to “accelerate the recovery” of patients with the most severe forms of the coronavirus, Anthony Gordon explained Thursday, researcher from Imperial College London, leading the British team participating in this international study.

Hydrocortisone would save 1 in 12 patients

Researchers tested the effects of seven different steroids on 403 patients with severe forms of the virus.

These tests conducted in 88 British hospitals have demonstrated the effectiveness of hydrocortisone, which would save around 1 in 12 patients.

“For patients who were not treated with this steroid, around 40% of them died from a severe form of Covid-19,” explained Anthony Gordon.

"In the group to whom we gave this steroid, only 32% of them died."

According to the researcher, this difference of eight points is equivalent to a reduction of "20% of the risk of mortality".

Steroid shortage problem

The Director General of the British Health Service (NHS) Simon Stevens on Wednesday announced in a statement "immediate measures to ensure that patients who could benefit from treatment with hydrocortisone" receive it, hailing this "additional weapon in the arsenal of the global fight against Covid-19 ”.

For Anthony Gordon, the "main utility" of this product will be to replace another steroid already recognized to be effective, dexamethasone, in order to alleviate the "problem of drug stocks", the main difficulty during a global pandemic affecting “Millions of patients”.

"This is not a treatment that can be used at home to prevent coronavirus or to treat mild symptoms," he cautioned, however, recalling that there had been no trials on cases outside the hospital and that the steroid was reserved for the most severe cases.

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