A steroid commonly used in asthma inhalers has the potential to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms. It could treat the illness early on and help to reduce pressure on hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common asthma medication that can be used at home might be an effective treatment for early COVID-19 in adults, according to a study published in The Lancet<\/em> medical journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n University of Oxford researchers found that patients who took the drug budesonide<\/a> when their first COVID-19 symptoms started were less likely to need urgent medical care or hospitalization, and had a shorter recovery time. It also reduced the chance of persistent symptoms and fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The randomized controlled trial involved 146 adults within seven days of the onset of mild COVID-19 symptoms. Half of the participants inhaled budesonide twice a day until their symptoms resolved, and the other half received the usual care given based on age, gender and existing illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the budesonide group, only one person needed urgent medical care, compared to 10 people in the group who received the standard care for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another University of Oxford study<\/a> that has yet to be peer reviewed also found that inhaled budesonide helped people who were at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes recover quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There’s good biological plausibility” for why corticosteroids would work, Chloe Bloom<\/a>, a senior clinical research fellow at Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute, told DW. Bloom was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corticosteroids like dexamethasone<\/a> are already being used effectively in hospitalized, severely ill COVID-19 patients. Bloom said researchers think it likely reduces the inflammation associated with severe COVID-19. Budesonide probably works in a similar way, but may be more localized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies have also shown that the use of inhaled steroids in people with\u00a0asthma<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)<\/a>\u00a0reduced the receptor that allows Sars-CoV-2 into the lungs, said Bloom, and\u00a0lab work has shown<\/a>\u00a0that inhaled steroids can possibly prevent virus replication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n