A Fife respiratory expert has described the initial findings of a Covid-19 drug trial as “really encouraging”.
A number of seriously ill Fife Covid-19 patients were given dexamethasone, a steroid which has been shown to save lives and has become the standard treatment for moderate and severe cases of the virus, as part of a UK-wide trial.
A national clinical trial named Recovery is testing a number of potential treatment options for patients with the virus.
And the most significant breakthrough was that dexamethasone can considerably reduce the number of patients dying as a result of contracting Covid-19.
The drug was shown to reduce deaths by as much as one-third in patients requiring intensive care and one-fifth in patients requiring oxygen.
NHS Tayside is also trialling the steroid.
Professor James Chalmers, a respiratory consultant at Ninewells Hospital, described the initial results of the dexamethasone trial as a “real breakthrough for people with Covid-19.”
Dr Devesh Dhasmana, the respiratory consultant leading the trial in Fife, said: “The early findings of the Recovery trial are really encouraging and are particularly helpful to us as medical staff in better informing the decisions we make in the care and treatment of patients now.
“Not only is the breakthrough discovered in the use of dexamethasone a world first, crucially it is already directly improving the treatment of Covid-19 for our most unwell patients here in Fife.”
There have been 933 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Fife but there are currently no patients being treated in hospital for the virus according to the latest data released by the Scottish Government.
Dr Dhasmana added: “While coronaviruses themselves have been around for a number of years, the virus that causes Covid-19 is new and more dangerous in a way that previous viruses had not been. It’s crucial that we learn as much as we can about the virus, and as quickly as we can, so that we can improve the range and impact of our available treatments.”
The Recovery project is one of a number of clinical trials NHS Fife’s research and development department is supporting to improve the treatment of Covid-19 and a host of other conditions.
The board’s research and development department coordinates a wide range of research studies, ranging from international multi-centre drug trials to short term student projects. In 2019, NHS Fife’s research and development programme was involved in over 250 different studies involving around 1,500 participants.
The research and development department is also responsible for ensuring that all research within NHS Fife meets national quality standards and complies with all relevant regulation and legislation.
