COVID-19 Breakthroughs

Oxford University researchers recently discovered an oral steroid, Dexamethasone, attacks the inflammation associated with COVID-19. Steven O’Day, M.D., Executive Director of the Saint John’s Cancer Institute and Cancer Clinic, and Director of Providence Los Angeles Regional Research, joined host Alex Cohen from Inside the Issue, Spectrum News 1, to discuss the effectiveness of Dexamethasone.

“Dexamethasone, an oral steroid that’s readily available, decreased mortality by about a third for severely sick COVID-19 patients, particularly patients on respirators.”

– Dr. Steven O’Day, M.D.

Dr. Steven O’Day also explains the advancement we have discovered over the past few months with respirators, and how they might cause more harm than good for COVID-19 patients. In order to circumvent the issue, Dr. O’Day said some patients are given a treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) instead of a ventilator. ECMO is a procedure that essentially removes blood from the body, infuses it with oxygen, then returns it, basically acting as an external set of lungs, so a patients real lungs could recover.

Learn about the new advancements with Dexamethasone, ECMO treatment, and how our researches are adapting to find a vaccine for COVID-19.

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