Donald Trump watches from the Truman Balcony on his return to the White House
US President Donald Trump is being treated for COVID-19 with a steroid recommended for severe cases of the disease and which carries risks of serious side effects, including mood swings, aggression and confusion.
Trump’s medical team said on Sunday that the president had started taking dexamethasone, a generic steroid that is long and widely used to reduce inflammation associated with other illnesses. The steroid was started after Trump experienced low oxygen levels.
White House officials painted a rosy picture of Trump’s condition, saying he could be released from hospital as early as Monday. But dexamethasone has generally been reserved for more severe cases.
A study in June that was hailed as a breakthrough showed that steroid use reduced death rates by about a third among hospitalized patients most severely affected by COVID-19.
Dexamethasone is used to treat immune system disorders, inflammatory conditions, breathing problems, and other conditions by decreasing the body’s natural defensive response, which can overreact and cause additional problems.
The Infectious Disease Society of America says dexamethasone is beneficial for people with critical or severe COVID-19 who need supplemental oxygen. But studies show that the drug can be harmful in people with milder COVID-19 because it can suppress their natural immune response.
Additionally, side effects can include physical problems such as blurred vision and irregular heartbeat, as well as personality changes and difficulty thinking, according to the International Myeloma Foundation.
“Steroids are still very dangerous drugs to use,” said Edward Jones-Lopez, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.
“This is why dexamethasone is used in severe to critical patients … There may be neuropsychiatric side effects. These are drugs that we use very, very carefully.”
However, dexamethasone is a steroid commonly used in many patients who have low oxygen levels due to COVID-19 and are generally harmless, said Amesh Adalja, senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
