April 13, 2021

Inhaled Budesonide in the Treatment of Early COVID-19 (STOIC): A Phase 2, Open-Label, Randomised Controlled Trial

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): treatment

• Treatment with the inhaled corticosteroid budesonide within 7 days of onset of mild COVID-19 symptoms was associated with a 91% reduction in risk of  an urgent care visit, an emergency department consultation, or hospitalization. In the per-protocol analysis of the randomized, open-label phase 2 trial, one of these three outcomes occurred in 14% (10 of 70) of the usual care group compared to 1% (1 of 69) of the budesonide group. Clinical recovery was one day shorter in the budesonide group (7 vs 8 days) and fewer participants in the budesonide group had persistent symptoms at days 14 and 28. The trial was halted due to prioritization rules for clinical trials in the UK and was unable to meet the original sample size of 398 patients.

Ramakrishnan et al. (Apr 9, 2021). Inhaled Budesonide in the Treatment of Early COVID-19 (STOIC): A Phase 2, Open-Label, Randomised Controlled Trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00160-0