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Review
. 2021 Mar 5:894:173854.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.173854. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

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

Sobia Noreen  1 , Irsah Maqbool  2 , Asadullah Madni  3
Affiliations
Review

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

Sobia Noreen et al. Eur J Pharmacol. .

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.

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Figures

Fig. 1
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
Fig. 2
Cytokine storm in COVID-19 associated ARDS and mechanism of action of dexamethasone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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