Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have congratulated Dr Raha West and the Trust ICU team on the contribution they made to the success of the Recovery Trial its discovery of a drug proven to be of positive benefit to COVID-19 patients.
Dexamethasone, one of the drugs tested on COVID-19 patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital as part of the research trial, is the first drug to show reduced risk of dying by a third in ventilated patients and a fifth in those receiving oxygen only.
More than 150 people took part in the study at Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe hospitals.
In the UK-wide trial, 2,104 patients were randomly allocated dexamethasone once a day for ten days and compared with 4,321 patients randomly allocated usual care alone.
Dr Raha West, an anaesthetist and Principal Investigator for the trial at the Trust, said: “In the absence of robust evidence on medical intervention that can benefit our COVID-19 patients, it is paramount to gather data on potential treatments as efficiently as we can. Here in Buckinghamshire, we are focused on recruiting to this crucial trial with the support from our colleagues and patients.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this week (16 June): “This astounding breakthrough is testament to the incredible work being done by our scientists behind the scenes. From today the standard treatment for COVID-19 will include dexamethasone, helping save thousands of lives while we deal with this terrible virus.”
The University of Oxford’s Professor Peter Horby, the trial’s Chief Investigator, said: “This is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19. This is an extremely welcome result.
“Dexamethasone is cheap, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.”
