WHO expert panel endorses Covid-19 treatment used in Hong Kong involving steroids for most severe cases
- The findings by the panel, which includes Chinese University Professor David Hui as a member, indicate steroids can prevent up to 9 per cent of fatalities among worst-hit patients
- The panel warns, however, that the same is not true of less severe cases, which did not respond positively to the treatment
A new World Health Organisation guideline recommends the use of steroids for severely and critically ill Covid-19 patients – a treatment already used in Hong Kong – with the global body estimating the drugs could prevent up to almost 9 per cent of fatalities among the most serious cases.
Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a Chinese University respiratory medicine expert involved in drafting the protocol – and an adviser to the Hong Kong government on its coronavirus response – said the new guideline further validated the effectiveness of a readily available type of drug already being used on some Covid-19 patients in the city.
“The research shows the drug, which has sufficient supply in the city, can reduce mortality rates in severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients,” said Hui, who also noted he expected local authorities to adopt the recommendations.
A guideline development group under the WHO comprising Hui and 22 other medical experts across the world issued the advice on Wednesday after studying eight recent randomised trials involving 7,184 patients.
The results showed systemic corticosteroids could reduce mortality rates in patients with critical cases of Covid-19, including those requiring intubation, with mortality rates after 28 days of the therapy down by 87 deaths per 1,000 critical cases. The medication could also lower death rates among severe cases, such as those requiring oxygen support, by an estimated 67 per 1,000 patients.
