Asthma drug found to speed up COVID recovery by an average of three days

A widely used asthma drug has become the first treatment proven to speed the recovery of COVID patients who stay at home.

According to Oxford University trials Budesonide, which is taken through an inhaler, cut the time it took higher risk patients to feel better by an average of three days.

Oxford University Primary Health Care Sciences Professor Richard Hobbs told Sky News, “it’s a very commonly used drug, it’s what we call a preventer drug, it’s a low dose steroid.”

“We’ve now recruited over 4,700 patients to the trial altogether, it’s what’s called a platform trial which is designed so that we can add new … treatment arms.

“As evidence of possible benefit comes out then we can add new arms to the trial.

“Budesonide was actually the fourth arm we added to the principal trial, the first three having failed to demonstrate any benefit.

“So this is the first intervention that has been shown to offer benefit to patients.

“It’s patients either over the age of 65 or over the age of 50 with other medical problems, so older patients and patients who have additional risk factors are the ones recruited in the trial”.

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