In the spring of this year there was a sudden hype surrounding ancient cortisone asthma sprays with budesonide as a possible Covid-19 drug. But according to the PRINCIPLE study now published in the Lancet, there is no reason for high hopes. This could most likely result in a somewhat faster recovery.
The first and extremely hopeful reports about the effect of budesonide treatment on Covid-19 patients immediately hit the headlines. Accordingly, the asthma drug for inhalation should be able to reduce the likelihood of outpatient or inpatient hospital treatment within 28 days as a result of a SARS-CoV-2 infection by 90 percent. Politicians called for the rapid and widespread use of the drug against Covid-19, and medical professional representatives propagated such a procedure and studies – both in Austria and internationally.
However, the first positive statements were made in April of this year, taking into account the data of not even 150 Covid-19 patients, half of whom had received cortisone. The actual study has now been published online in the “Lancet”. It was about the possibility of using inhalable budesonide to prevent further complications in people at high risk.
4,700 subjects aged over 65 years or over 50 and multiple illnesses were included. You must have felt sick for at least 14 days after a Covid-19 suspicion. 1,073 patients received 800 micrograms of budesonide twice a day, 1,988 people received only the usual care, 1,639 study participants received other therapies. The current evaluation was based on 2,350 SARS-CoV-2 infected people, of whom 787 took budesonide, 1,069 received the usual care and 974 were treated differently.
The main finding, according to the authors, led by Ly-Mee Yu and co-authors from the UK’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Research and Oxford University, “In the budesonide group, there was an advantage in terms of time to self-reported recovery an average of 2.94 days. ” The findings were apparently not created by doctors, but merely reflect the information provided by the participants.
Although there is a chance that treatment with the asthma spray could prevent hospitalizations and deaths within 28 days, the parameters planned for the study to determine the superiority of the therapy were not met, the authors wrote. A 2.2 percentage point lower frequency of hospital admissions or Covid 19 deaths (6.8 percent versus 8.8 percent) was simply too low to make a significant statement.
The budesonide hype in the spring of this year had jeopardized the supply of medicines to asthma patients for a short time. The dispensing of sprays in pharmacies suddenly skyrocketed.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
