Arthritis drug could help save Covid patients – study

Researchers have found that a drug used to treat rhythym could help save the lives of patients with Covid, even if it is used on top of other drugs.

According to experts involved in the trial, baricitinib can reduce the risk of death from severe Covid by 20%.

They say that the risk of death could be lowered by 50% if other medications are also taken into account.

A suite of drugs which tackle the immune system at different levels and slightly different ways, depending on the patient and their circumstances, and their other illnesses and so on, can be used either alone or in combination and further reduce the risk. He said that the drugs did not pose a risk.

In a preprint that has yet to be peer-reviewed, the team report how they looked at outcomes for 4,008 patients who were hospitalized with Covid between February and December 2021.

4,148 patients were given baricitinib for up to 10 days in addition to usual care, and these outcomes were compared with them.

547 patients who received usual care died within 28 days of being admitted to the hospital, and 513 of them were also given baricitinib.

Landray said that the result was consistent across a wide range of people.

The effect of bariacitinib was small and less likely to require mechanical ventilation, but Landray noted that those given the drug were more likely to be successfully discharged alive within the first 28 days.

The team found that baricitinib reduced the risk of death in patients hospitalized for Covid by 20% when combined with data from other trials.

The vaccine status of patients and the time at which they took part in the trial did not affect the results.

The researchers say there were no signs of increased infections or blood clot when baricitinib was used over a short period to help tackle severe Covid.

Landray said a 10-day course of baricitinib would be more expensive than dexamethasone, but cheaper than tocilizumab.

Baricitinib blocks the transmission of signals from this and similar proteins while tocilizumab acts to block a protein that can cause an overreaction of the immune system.

The Recovery trial's results are important because of the concerns that some Covid variants are resistant to certain antivirals, according to Prof Sir Peter Horby.

Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, welcomed the latest results for baricitinib. The results will be looked at by our medical and scientific experts before any decisions are made.