A drug commonly used for arthritis can reduce the death rate of severe COVID-19, says a new study. Oxford University researchers found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who received tocilizumab was less likely to die or need to be placed on a ventilator, according to a study published on the prepress server medRXiv. (Not yet peer-reviewed). Tocilizumab is a monoclonal anti-inflammatory antibody frequently used for rheumatoid arthritis. It blocks an inflammatory protein called IL-6, which can reduce the pain and swelling of arthritis and other conditions that cause inflammation. Read on to see the evidence – and to ensure your health and that of others, don’t miss out on these Certain Signs that you’ve had Coronavirus.
Tocilizumab reduced the risk of death from COVID by 14%, according to researchers
“We believe that about half of inpatients would benefit from this drug based on our calculations,” said Peter Horby, professor of medicine at the University of Oxford. “We think this could be happening almost immediately.”
The trial found that tocilizumab reduced the risk of death by 14% compared to patients who received standard treatment. It also reduced the number of patients who needed to be placed on a ventilator by 5%.
Most patients in the study received tocilizumab in addition to dexamethasone, a steroid that has been shown to benefit hospitalized patients with COVID.
“Our data suggest that in patients with COVID-19 who are hypoxic and have evidence of systematic inflammation, treatment with a combination of systemic corticosteroids plus tocilizumab should reduce mortality by about a third for patients receiving simple oxygen and almost one-half for those receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, “wrote the researchers.
“Now we can reduce the risk of death by between a third and even half [compared to the beginning of the pandemic last spring], depending on exactly which patients are treated, ”said Martin Landray, a professor at the University of Oxford.
COVID-19 appears to cause inflammation that can damage various organs in the body, including lungs, blood vessels, brain and kidneys. In severe cases, this inflammation can cause difficulty in breathing and, ultimately, organ failure due to lack of oxygen.
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How to survive this pandemic
As for you, do everything you can to avoid getting – and spreading – COVID-19 in the first place: Wear a face mask, get tested if you think you have coronavirus, avoid crowds (and bars and parties at home), practice social detachment, perform only essential tasks, wash your hands regularly, disinfect surfaces that are touched frequently and overcome this pandemic in the healthiest way, don’t miss these 35 places you’re most likely to reach COVID.