The widely used steroid ‘dexamethasone’was included in the treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients in moderate to severe stages of illness among other therapeutic measures by the Union health ministry .
The updated protocol includes the advice to use dexamethasone as an alternative choice to methylprednisolone for managing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. The change has been made after considering the latest available evidence and expert consultation, as per the ministry .
According to the revised ‘Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19’, dexamethasone which is already used in treating lung infections besides in a wide range of conditions for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects can be used as an alternative to methylprednisolone which already existed in the treatment guidelines.
The health ministry on June 13 had also allowed the use of antiviral drug ‘remdesivir’ for restricted emergency use and off-label application of tocilizumab, a drug that modifies the immune system or its functioning, and convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19 patients in moderate stage of the illness as an ‘investigational therapy’.
It also recommended hydroxychloroquine in patients during the early course of the disease and not on critically ill patients. The use of these drugs continues to be included in the revised treatment protocols under the ‘investigational therapy’.
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