STerOids in COVID-19 Study

Overview

At the time of writing (3/4/2020), close to a million people have been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus around the world. The severe clinical condition that leads to deaths is now called CoVID-19. Currently, there are no effective treatments for the early or late stages of this illness. Governments worldwide have undertaken dramatic interventions to try and reduce the rate of spread of this deadly coronavirus. Early data from multiple studies in China, where the virus originated, show that severe cases of CoVID-19 are not as prevalent in patients with chronic lung diseases as expected. This data has been confirmed by the Italian physicians. The investigators think that the widespread use of inhaled corticosteroids reduces the risk of CoVID-19 pneumonia in patients with chronic lung disease. Early microbiological data also shows that these corticosteroids are effective at slowing down the rate of coronavirus replication on lung cells. Inhaled corticosteroids are widely used to manage common lung conditions, such as asthma. This type of medicine is among the top 3 most common medication prescribed around the world. Their safety is well understood, and their potential side effects are mild and reversible. The investigators propose to test this idea that, in participants early in the course of CoVID-19 illness, daily high dose inhaled corticosteroids for 28 days, will reduce the chances of severe respiratory illness needing hospitalisation. We will also study the effect of this inhaled therapy on symptoms and viral load.

Conditions