OREANDA-NEWS. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers results of a study on the effectiveness of dexamethasone in the treatment of patients with coronavirus to be a “scientific breakthrough.”

Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory drug. A study on its effectiveness in the treatment of COVID-19 was conducted by specialists of the Oxford University. This medicine reduces mortality of patients on mechanical ventilation by 35 %, and people on oxygen treatment by 20 %. A pack of drugs costs about 5 pounds sterling. The British government has already approved it for the treatment of a new type of coronavirus.

“This is the first treatment to be shown to reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilator support. This is great news and I congratulate the Government of the UK, the University of Oxford, and the many hospitals and patients in the UK who have contributed to this lifesaving scientific breakthrough,” WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.