City doctors react with caution and a been-there-done-that attitude to the buzz around the 'life-saving' drug
It burst upon us like a ray of sunshine on a drab, overcast day. The news outlets started bubbling late on Tuesday evening about a drug called Dexamethasone. The English news outlets in particular were citing a buzz in medical circles, running extensive news reports on the drug. Rousing reports stated that some UK experts have said that the 'low cost drug is the first one to reduce COVID-19 deaths' and yet other reports claimed that a 'cheap steroid has emerged as a life-saving drug'. It was dubbed as a 'major breakthrough'.
Was always there
All the excitement though has elicited a droll reaction from city doctors who say that we, in India, have been using the drug for years now.
One doctor said, "It is not a new drug. It has been there for ages. It is a steroid regularly used to treat asthmatics and also for those suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It is cheap too." Paediatrician Dr Kintu Chandiramani added, "It has been found useful in patients with COVID pneumonia and low oxygen saturation. It is an inexpensive and life-saving drug."
Desperate public
Holy Family Hospital's Chief of Surgery, Dr Bryan Sodder, said, "Dexamethasone has been used for years to treat shock due to cytokine storm due to any cause. It is now in the media glare because of COVID-19. Remdesvir, an antiviral developed for the Ebola virus has also sprung to prominence but it only reduces hospital stay from 15 days to 11 days."
The medical experts decode all the frenetic and optimistic reports as the natural response to what happens when there are so many questions. People want answers. Any answer, say docs, gives some kind of hope to an increasingly desperate public, looking for a sign of an end to this pandemic.
Top neurosurgeon, Dr Keki Turel, said, "Everything now is either exciting, new, different or controversial. In the context of Coronavirus, the controversy over Hydroxychloroquine continues, and that makes news. Today, people are desperate and they want miracles. How can one get a vaccine overnight? I would tell experts not to rush, and the media must desist from rash statements. While certain findings make news, it is vital that the public reads not just one or two lines. Learn to read between the lines and the small print too."
Real issues
Cardiologist Dr Anil Kumar said, "In India, Dexamethasone has been used for decades. Do not look at this as some kind of miracle. We need to emphasise more on the importance of hygiene in homes and in public places too. There should be a spotlight on that, and a hard drive to expose the corruption in this fight against the virus." Another doctor said it is the "media that is making all this exciting," adding, "we have been using Dexamethasone and probably, the number of deaths here is less compared to other nations, because of that. It is cheap and accessible, but let us not tout feel-good phrases like 'miracles' or 'first-ever'," he concluded.
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