Dexamethasone: Therapeutic potential, risks, and future projection during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The current outbreak of novel COVID-19 challenges the development of an efficient treatment plan as soon as possible. Several promising treatment options stand out as potential therapy of COVID-19, including plasma-derived drugs, monoclonal antibodies, antivirals, antimalarial, cell therapy, and corticosteroids. Dexamethasone an approved corticosteroid medication, acting as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant agent. In the current pandemic, dexamethasone is declared a "major development" in the fight against COVID-19. Steroidal dexamethasone was presented as the recent advancement that significantly reduces the mortality rate among severe COVID-19 cases. This review summarizes the preliminary opinion about the dexamethasone outbreak, therapeutic potential, risks, and strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); COVID-19 therapeutics; Corticosteroid; Dexamethasone; Immunosuppressant; SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 1

%Age reduction in mortality rate with use of corticosteroids in COVID-19 associated ARDS (Villar, J. et al., 2020, Wu, C. et al., 2020, Ye, Zha et al., 2020, Zhou, Ye et al., 2020, Oxford, U.o., 2020).

Fig. 2

Cytokine storm in COVID-19 associated ARDS and mechanism of action of dexamethasone.