A commonly used asthma treatment appears to reduce the need for hospitalizations, as well as the recovery time for patients with COVID-19, if administered within seven days of the onset of symptoms, Oxford University researchers said on Tuesday.
The findings were made after an intermediate-stage study of the steroid budesonide, sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca Plc and also used to treat smokers’ lungs.
The 28-day study of 146 patients suggested that inhaled budesonide reduced the risk of urgent care or hospitalization by 90% when compared to usual treatment, the University of Oxford said.
The researchers said the study was inspired by the fact that patients with chronic respiratory diseases, who often receive inhaled steroids, were significantly underrepresented among patients with COVID-19 hospitalized during the early days of the pandemic. (https://bit.ly/3q40g1W)
Initial data from the study also found that volunteers treated with budesonide had a faster resolution of fever and fewer persistent symptoms.
“I am excited that a relatively safe, widely available and well-studied drug … could have an impact on the pressures we are experiencing during the pandemic,” said Mona Bafadhel, the study’s lead investigator.
Pulmicort was once a successful drug for AstraZeneca, maker of the coronavirus vaccine, which now offers a new drug, Symbicort, as an alternative treatment for asthma.
The results of the University of Oxford study have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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