An inhalable asthma treatment does not help lessen the number of days COVID-19 patients experience symptoms, a new study suggests.
A research team led by the University at Buffalo looked at ciclesonide, which reduces inflammation and swelling in the airways, compared to a placebo.
They found that Covid patients did not clear symptoms more quickly when they were given ciclesonide and, in fact, it took the same number of deaths for signs like coughing, shortness of breath and fever to disappear as those who were given a dummy pill.
However, the team did find that the treatment group was less likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for reasons related to COVID-19.
Researchers compared symptomatic COVID-19 patients treated with ciclesonide – an inhalable treatment mainly used for asthma that helps reduce inflammation and swelling in the airways (above – compared to a placebo
Patients who received the drug didn’t see relief in less time and were able to recover in the same number of days as patients in the placebo group., but were less likely to be hospitalized. Pictured: Doctor tends to patient in COVID-19 intensive medical care unit, University Hospital Leipzig (Germany), November 2021
Ciclesonide belongs to a class of drugs known as corticosteroids, man-made drugs that closely resemble the hormone cortisol and treat a variety of conditions.
Inhalable medicine that reduces symptoms and prevents asthma attacks.
To make breathing easier and reduce inflammation in the lungs, Ciclesonide is used. However, it does not cure an asthma attack that has already begun.
This therapy, which is anti-inflammatory in nature, has attracted attention from Covid patients not being hospitalized.
There have been mixed past results. While one study did not show that the medication reduced the duration of symptoms, another found it increased the likelihood that patients would experience relief 12 times faster.
This new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine examined 400 COVID-19 patients who had been rolled from 10 U.S. locations between June 11, 2020, and November 20, 2020.
Half of the participants were treated with ciclesonide while the other half were given a placebo, and all had symptoms of Covid.
Researchers measured the time it took to get all symptoms under control between both groups.
The researchers found no significant difference. It took 19 days for both placebo and treatment-arm symptoms to vanish in each case.
The authors concluded that there was no statistically significant difference between the participants treated with ciclesonide and placebo at the primary efficacy point.
Next, researchers looked at how many patients ended up going to the hospital or emergency room for Covid-related reasons within 30 days.
Only two patients had to be admitted to hospital for ciclesonide, whereas 11 did not.
After accounting for various factors, the team found that treatment groups were 0.18 times more likely than others to visit the hospital. They also determined that they were 0.45 times less likely not to need to be admitted.
According to them, future research should be done to see if treatment could reduce hospitalizations rather than just treating the symptoms.
“The authors concluded that this randomized clinical trial suggests that inhaled steroids need to be studied in future studies in order for them to prove their efficacy in patients who are at higher risk of developing disease or in decreasing the number of COVID-19-related symptoms.
