Asthma drug shortens recovery time in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients: Study

A landmark study recently found that an inhaled drug commonly used for asthma shortens the recovery time of COVID-19 sufferers who do need hospital treatment. According to the result from the Principle trial, British scientists from Oxford University found that budesonide, which is an anti-inflammatory medicine, can help accelerate recovery in the over 50s by an average of three days. The researchers said that the readily available drug, administered via a cheap inhaler twice a day for up to 14 days, can be prescribed through general practitioners, raising hope that doctors will be able to start treating COVID-19 patients at home early in their illness. 

Joint chief investigator Chris Butler, a south Wales GP and professor of primary care at Oxford University, said, “PRINCIPLE, the world’s largest platform trial of community-based treatments for COVID-19, has found evidence that a relatively cheap, widely available drug with very few side effects helps people at higher risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19 recover quicker, stay better once they feel recovered, and improves their wellbeing”. 

In the trials in people over 65 and over 50 with underlying health conditions, the researchers found that inhaling budesonide shortened their recovery time and helped them stay well and feel better than those who were not given the drug in subsequent weeks. The researchers said that the latest study can now change clinical practice around the globe. They said that as fewer hospital beds are available for COVID patients, the study, which they described as a “significant milestone,” is a major breakthrough in treating COVID-19 outside of hospitals.

According to the research, fewer people in the trial were admitted to the hospital among those given the inhaled corticosteroid drug.  However, the researchers said that that was at a time of falling hospital admissions so the effect is not clear. It worth noting that the paper is published as a pre-print, which means that it has not yet been through peer review, but experts have hailed the interim findings and the NHS has also issued new guidance saying that the medicine should be considered for patients on a “case-by-case basis”. 

Butler said, “We anticipate that medical practitioners around the world caring for people with Covid-19 in the community may wish to consider this evidence when making treatment decisions, as it should help people with Covid-19 recover quicker”. 

‘Significant’ research 

While speaking a media briefing, Oxford’s Professor Gail Hayward, who is a co-principal investigator in the trial, said that she thinks the latest findings have “significant implications” for the world as this is the first time a treatment has been shown to be beneficial for patients in their community. Hayward said that the majority of patients who get COVID are in the community. She added the something that can help them feel better three days sooner is “significant”. 

The scientists involved in the study have said that they now intend to continue assessing patients to determine whether budesonide also prevents the development of long COVID in those who have been infected with the deadly virus. Butler said that his team is only presenting data for 28 days of follow-up. He added that in due course, the researchers will be following these people for longer and will be able to talk about long COVID more comprehensively in due course. 

(Rep image: Pixabay/AP)