RIYADH — The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced on Wednesday that it has approved the use of Dexamethasone for the treatment of coronavirus. The drug, a cortisone medication, has been included in the ministry's treatment protocol for COVID-19 patients, and will be being given to corona patients who need oxygen and are admitted to hospitals, especially in critical care units, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting ministry sources. Dexamethasone is a generic steroid widely used in other diseases to reduce inflammation. The drug helps stop some of the damage that can happen when the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight off coronavirus. The ministry said that there is an extensive study under way and some of its results, which were published Tuesday, showed that this drug reduces the risk of deaths of COVID-19 patients, who are on ventilators in intensive care units, by 35 percent. It also brings down death rates of patients who use oxygen but are not on ventilators by 20 percent. The MoH emphasized that it is constantly updating the therapeutic protocol for coronavirus patients by adding any drugs that have positive impact on patients, saying that specialists at the ministry follow up on everything issued by research centers around the world round the clock basis. It is noteworthy that, ever since the beginning of the outbreak of the pandemic, the Kingdom has geared up to develop treatment protocols that are constantly updated by specialized scientific committees and distributed to physicians who are following up and treating the coronavirus infected patients.
