(Reuters) – Commonly used asthma treatment appears to reduce the need for hospitalizations and recovery time for COVID-19 patients if given within seven days of symptoms, they said on Tuesday researchers at Oxford University.
The findings were made after a mid-stage study of the budesonide steroid, sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca Plc and also used to treat the smoker’s lung.
The 28-day study in 146 patients suggested that inhaled budesonide reduced the risk of urgent care or hospitalization by 90% compared to regular care, Oxford University said.
The researchers said the trial was inspired by the fact that patients with chronic respiratory disease, who often receive inhaled steroids, were significantly underrepresented among COVID-19 patients hospitalized during the early days of the pandemic. (bit.ly/3q40g1W)
Initial data from the study also found that volunteers treated with budesonide had faster resolution of fever and fewer persistent symptoms.
“I am encouraged by the fact that relatively safe, widely available and well-studied medicine … can have an impact on the pressures we are experiencing during the pandemic,” said Mona Bafadhel, the trial’s lead researcher.
Pulmicort was once a successful drug for coronavirus vaccine maker AstraZeneca, which now offers a newer drug, Symbicort, as an alternative treatment for asthma.
The results of the Oxford University study have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Reports from Pushkala Aripaka to Bengaluru; Edition by Ramakrishnan M.