In a major development after the World Health Organization had called for a rapid increase in production of dexamethasone, as British clinical trials found, it had the life-saving potential for critically-ill COVID-19 patients, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday released an updated clinical management protocol for COVID-19 cases.
The manual includes the advice to use dexamethasone as an alternative to methylprednisolone for managing moderate to severe cases.
The Union Health Ministry published a revised version of "Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19". It is a document to be used by health professionals as a reference.
The use of dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, has been cleared for patients in need of oxygen support and those who have an excessive inflammatory response, the document states.
"In patients with progressive deterioration of oxygenation indicators, rapid worsening on imaging and excessive activation of the body's inflammatory response, glucocorticoids can be used for a short period of time (3 to 5 days). It is recommended that the dose should not exceed the equivalent of methylprednisolone 1-2mg/kg/day or dexamethasone 0.2-0.4 mg/kg/day. Note that a larger dose of glucocorticoid will delay the removal of coronavirus due to immunosuppressive effects," the new guidelines say.
In a report, Shekhar Mande, Director of India's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, said, "The results about dexamethasone are extremely promising for the critically ill Covid-19 patients and will help reduce deaths at the severe stage of the disease. It is a huge step forward. We are very excited and are looking forward to the detailed scientific study".
