A Phase 2 study of inhaled budesonide for the treatment of COVID-19 found that patients who received 800 mcg twice daily plus standard of care within 7 days after first experiencing symptoms had a 90% reduced risk of urgent medical care or hospital admission compared to patients who did not get inhaled budesonide. The STOIC study enrolled 146 adult patients with early COVID-19 symptoms who were being treated at home, with half assigned to use Pulmicort Turbuhaler twice a day until their symptoms resolved.
In addition to the reduced severity of the disease, patients who used a budesonide DPI recovered a day faster on average and had fewer persistent symptoms at 14 days and at 28 days than patients who received only standard care. According to the pre-print, the median time to resolution of symptoms was 7 days for patients using Pulmicort and 8 days for those on usual care. At day 14, 10% of patients using Pulmicort still reported symptoms compared to 30% of patients on usual care.
Results from the study were published published on medRxiv as a pre-print which summarizes the implications as follows: “The STOIC trial potentially provides the first easily accessible effective intervention in early COVID-19. By assessing health care resource utilization, the study provides an exciting option to help with the worldwide pressure on health care systems due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from this study also suggests a potentially effective treatment to prevent the long term morbidity from persistent COVID-19 symptoms.”
Lead investigator Mona Bafadhel of the University of Oxford commented, “There have been important breakthroughs in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but equally important is treating early disease to prevent clinical deterioration and the need for urgent care and hospitalization, especially to the billions of people worldwide who have limited access to hospital care. The vaccine programs are really exciting, but we know that these will take some time to reach everyone across the world. I am heartened that a relatively safe, widely available and well studied medicine such as an inhaled steroid could have an impact on the pressures we are experiencing during the pandemic.”
Bafadhel added, “I am encouraged to see the reduction in persistent symptoms at 14 and 28 days after treatment with budesonide. Persistent symptoms after the initial COVID-19 illness have emerged as a long-term problem. Any intervention which could address this would be a major step forward.”
Read the medRxiv pre-print.
Read the University of Oxford press release.
