July 20, 2020

Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 — Preliminary Report

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• In the open-label RECOVERY trial among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Horby et al. found that 28-day mortality was lower for patients receiving the steroid dexamethasone than for the usual care group among patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (29% vs. 41%) or supplemental oxygen without invasive mechanical ventilation (23% vs. 26%), but not among those who were receiving no respiratory support at randomization (18% vs. 14%). [EDITORIAL NOTE: A version of these findings was published as a pre-print article that was included in this Literature Report on June 23, 2020] 

Horby et al. (July 17, 2020). Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 — Preliminary Report. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2021436