Asthma Medicine, Budesonide Hailed as Effective Treatment for COVID-19

Hospimedica ^ | 07/14/2020 | By HospiMedica International staff writers

[SeekAndFind]

Budesonide, a medicine used to help prevent the symptoms of asthma, is being touted as the “silver bullet” for COVID-19.

Budesonide, a corticosteroid or steroid, reduces the severity of asthma attack by preventing inflammation in the lungs and can be inhaled directly to the lungs using a nebulizer. Daily use of inhaled budesonide reduces the number and severity of asthma attacks, although it cannot provide relief from an asthma attack that is already underway.

Dr. Richard Bartlett, a US doctor, believes that budesonide, otherwise known as the brand name Pulmicor, can successfully treat the coronavirus. Dr. Bartlett claims to have used inhaled, generic budesonide to cure several COVID-19 patients who have vouched for his treatment.

Now, researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT Brisbane, Australia) and the University of Oxford (Oxford, UK) are collaborating to test common asthma inhalers as a treatment for COVID-19 infection. The STOIC (STerOids In COVID-19) trial will look at whether asthma inhalers given to people with early stage COVID-19 can reduce progression of respiratory illness and cut emergency department presentations and hospital admissions. Some patients will be given budesonide, while others will be given a placebo.

Recruitment for the trial has begun and the researchers will be coordinating trial data analysis, modelling of pathological mechanisms and building COVID-19 maths models to explain and use the clinical trial data to optimize patient treatment. Mathematical modelling by the STOIC study team suggests that the earlier the inhaled steroid treatment is applied, the more people can be stopped from becoming sick.

“Ideally it may be that the corticosteroid therapy would be given to anyone with a new, dry cough, and while they are awaiting their COVID test results,” said associate Professor Nicolau, from the QUT Science and Engineering Faculty School of Mathematical Sciences.

[Keyhopper]

I got sick in late January and it came on quick. Felt fine that morning, but by lunch I was wheezing. By the time I got home it was a steady cough that wouldn’t produce any phlem. I started taking Mucinex and using abuterol. I missed 2 days of work because the coughing kept me awake. I was coughing for a month and used abuterol nightly before bed.

[FamiliarFace]

Wow, sounds like someone dropped the ball (not you)! Crazy how inept the process can be!

[Bob434]

Several years ago we got that in our family- it was a very hard cough- and i must have torn muscles or something in chest i coughed so hard- was sick as a dog- i had albuterol and used it, but ended up in hospital for nebulizer treatment which did finally help- I had to be driven to hospital because i was afraid i would stop being able to breathe on the way- like you- this lasted for al ong time- seemed like the cough was gonna be permanent it took so long to clear- They told me it was ‘just bronchitis’- but wow- it was a scary deal- and i am used to not being able to breathe well with asthma- this was a whole nother level- and the coughing- wow-

Glad ya made it-= there’s not much scarier really than not beign able to breathe well-

[Bob434]

Yeah- just sent you an update in pm- apparently the lab never even received the sample for covid test- so now i gotta get it all over again- I saw the doc type out the order i thought, when i asked if i could get the test- she said ‘sure’ then typed it out- We’re a small town, and while this doesn’t happen often, it does happen with enough regularity that it’s aggravating- I’m waiting on doc now for an order to get blood test again- she didn’t call back this afternoon- hopefully tomorrow-

But like i mentioned, we probably didn’t have it, but whatever we had was awful- and it was right at that time too- - so am curious if it was or not-

Anyways- thanks for getting me motivated to call- like a dummy i was sitting here thinking the results just weren’t in yet- little did i know lol