A DRUGS trial which has been hailed a success in the fight against the deadly coronavirus involved more than 100 patients at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

The Trust supported the Oxford University clinical trial involving the drug dexamethasone, which has been successful in reducing mortality amongst ventilated Covid-19 patients.

Researchers at RBH started the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 ThERapY) trial in April, with more than 100 patients participating, a significant proportion of the hospital’s Covid-19 positive patients.

The trial is looking at the effectiveness of drugs in treating confirmed cases of Covid-19. Patients could either continue with standard care, or be enrolled in the trial, where they would be randomly assigned one of four treatment options alongside standard care.

The RBH Research Team has welcomed the announcement from the University of Oxford, which has revealed dexamethasone, a readily available steroid treatment, is able to reduce deaths by up to one third in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications, and by one fifth in other patients receiving oxygen only.

Laura Purandare, Head of Research and Innovation at RBH said: “We are delighted to have contributed to the RECOVERY trial, providing meaningful results from the dexamethasone arm which will directly impact care for future patients with Covid-19 and improve survival worldwide.

"It’s what research is all about, but quite new for us to have results this quickly. We are all so pleased – this has only been possible down to excellent teamwork and communication across the whole hospital, particularly our clinicians, research team and pharmacy.”

Terry Levy, Clinical Director for Research and Innovation at RBH added: "The RECOVERY trial has been a truly collaborative effort, not only across our entire hospital but across the whole of the UK.

"The statistically significant results for dexamethasone are very important to help provide informed clinical decision making when treating very unwell patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. The trial has been a high priority COVID-19 study for us and it is fantastic to the see preliminary results."