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Cheap Steroid Can Help Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients, Study Shows

Ken Bredemeier

   LONDON - A cheap and widely available steroid drug has shown it can
   save the lives of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients, British
   researchers said Tuesday.

   Scientists called the use of dexamethasone, normally used to reduce
   inflammation in patients with arthritis and other diseases, a "major
   breakthrough" in the treatment of patients infected by the coronavirus
   who have been hospitalized and needed the use of a ventilator or
   supplemental oxygen.

   Researchers at the University of Oxford said that a study of more than
   6,400 patients -- a third of whom were administered the drug and
   two-thirds of whom were not -- showed that use of the drug was
   particularly beneficial for the most seriously ill patients but did not
   appear to help less ill patients.

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