Trials with breakthrough drug dexamethasone at Chesterfield Royal Hospital could save lives of Covid-19 patients around world
The dedication and persistence of a small research team at Chesterfield Royal Hospital could help save lives around the world amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Behind the scenes, and beyond the wards and more visible frontline heroes of the crisis, a 15-strong team of Royal researchers have been meticulously trialling a host of treatments for coronavirus.
After giving their consent, patients are treated with a number of different drugs in a bid to find the best way to tackle the deadly virus.
Trials at the Royal with a cheap and widely available steroid, dexamethasone, are now being hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight – helping to thrust UK research into the global spotlight.
“I was not surprised that it was effective because we use steroids a lot with respiratory patients,” Amanda Whileman, matron for clinical research, told the Derbyshire Times.
“But the level of success was incredible. To increase the chances of survival in patients on oxygen by 20 per cent and those on ventilators by 35 per cent is a massive breakthrough.
“It has provided a real boost for the team and the hospital at a very difficult time. Research isn’t always in the limelight but this has brought its importance to the forefront.
“It is really significant and has put the UK on the map for research into Covid-19.”
Under the study, given the name ‘Recovery’ and working closely with the University of Oxford, Covid-19 patients trialled a number of different treatments at the Royal – with a computer randomly selecting which eligible patient received which drug.
A number of patients also received ‘standard care’.
Some drugs were found to cause more harm than good and the team at the Royal also carried out research with antibiotics and treatments for HIV.
Twenty-nine patients were treated with dexamethasone – a steroid which costs about £5 for a course which lasts up to 10 days. Researchers believe that in most cases £35 can be enough to save a life.
“Compared to some other drugs it is a fraction of the cost,” Amanda said.
“When we started to see just how effective it was in treating very poorly patients it was exciting.”
When given at a low dose, dexamethasone works by dampening down the body’s response to the virus and calms down the immune system to enable it to fight it.
Tom Spencer, research and development lead at the Royal, described it as ‘a great step forward in the fight against Covid-19.
“The team are all so proud to have been a part of this trial and help find treatment options rapidly during the pandemic,” he said.
Amanda says research into coronavirus continues at the Royal and has stressed that it is not all about dexamethasone.
“Although the trials with dexamethasone have been a great success, it could be that other drugs, or a combination of other drugs, are even more effective,” she said.
“That’s why the research will continue and remains so important.”
Clinical trials usually take months to get under way and involve a few hundred patients. The Recovery trial was set up in nine days and has recruited 11,500 Covid patients.