FDA cautions against abuse of Dexameihasone as treatment for COVID-19

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned the public about the use of Dexamethasone as a drug for the treatment of Covid-19.

“Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid medicine that can only be prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner for specific indications and can have some serious side effects.”

The public is therefore cautioned against the purchase, stocking and use of dexamethasone or
any other corticosteroid medicine unless certified by healthcare professionals,” the FDA said.

Preliminary results from the recovery trial in the United Kingdom revealed that Dexamethasone is able to reduce deaths in Covid-19 patients on ventilators and oxygen.

But the FDA in a release signed by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Delese Darko noted that Dexamethasone is shown to be beneficial only in preventing some deaths in Covid-19 patients on ventilators and oxygen and not asymptomatic or mild to moderately ill patients.

It further noted that Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid and is classified a Prescription-Only-Medicine and should only be prescribed and used under medical supervision in Covid-19 or for any other disease.

“Dexamethasone suppresses the immune system, and in the UK study, this effect was
beneficial and needed in order to suppress the clinically problematic excessive immune
reaction in severe and critical Covid-19 case,” it said.

The Authority therefore warned that examethasone should not under any circumstances be used for the prevention of Covid-19 as its potential to suppress the immune system will counteract the body’s natural function to fight against Covid-19 and Other infections in long term.

“The general public is assured that the Ministry Of Health’s Provisional Standard Treatment Guideline for Novel Coronavirus Infection (2020) has already made provisions for this category
of patients by including another corticosteroid which will be used for similar indication should the need arise, ” the release noted.

It further urged the public to follow the measures announced by the Ministry Of Health which are listed to reduce the risk of being infected with Covid-19.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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