Steroids confirmed to help severely ill coronavirus patients
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Chief Medical Writer
New studies confirm that multiple types of steroids improve survival for severely ill COVID-19 patients, cementing the cheap drugs as a standard of care. An analysis of pooled results from seven studies found that steroids reduced the risk of death in the first month by about one-third compared to placebo treatment or usual care alone in these seriously ill patients who needed extra oxygen. The work was led by the World Health Organization and published Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association.